Star Wars : Rapture of Destiny
by Madame Hellion
Summary: The Force works in mysterious ways... Beginning after the Battle of Yavin, this story focuses on the complex lives of our favorite (and some original!) characters in a Star Wars E/U that adheres to the original trilogy story, but with new twists and turns along the way! Luke begins piecing together the mysteries of the Force...and finds an unlikely ally in the process..
1. Newfound Freedon

Chapter One: Newfound Freedom

Luke barely slept the night after the battle of Yavin.

His life had been completely turned upside down in a matter of days; it was all one big blur of excitement and adventure – adventure he had only dreamed about while watching the twin suns set on Tatooine.

He could not believe that he had just gone from being a boring-old-nobody (his greatest worries being whether or not he could get to Tosche Station before they closed shop) to flying in actual combat with the Rebellion - all without attending the Naval Academy with his friends. He laughed to himself, remembering his own incessant whining about leaving farm to attend, each time Uncle Owen shooting him down. Maybe his uncle was right, in the end.

It was best that he hadn't gone to the Academy, even if it meant losing every friend he had on Tatooine. Though he had hated slaving away for his Uncle on that dustball of a planet, and had prayed for the chance to leave home forever, Luke was glad that he had not gone, because he now knew he'd have been working for the wrong side. Knowing what he knew now, it was well worth the wait.

He wondered if it was Fate that had kept him from joining the Empire. Perhaps destiny had a mysterious way of guiding one person towards and away from things that ultimately had far-reaching and disastrous effects. He was never one to believe in destiny, but lately, he wasn't sure what he believed in anymore.

Luke only _thought_ he knew what was happening out there, but now that he was caught up in the middle of it - and was probably the Empire's most wanted man by now- he began to feel that maybe he was in a little over his sandy-haired head. Thanks to his recent awakening to the present level of intergalactic turmoil (all of which was still terrifyingly new to him), Luke decided that he would try his best to curb his level of complaining, instead turning his ear toward his new colleagues and allies so that he could learn all he could.

Afterall, Luke was now alone. He had survived, and he wanted to keep it that way. If he had to remain alone for awhile, he could deal with that.

Despite all that he'd been through recently, Luke was genuinely happy that the Rebellion had succeeded tonight. His new friends were safe, he was safe for the moment, and that at least other planets could now be spared the horrible fate of Alderaan, which reminded him…

Stars, he even managed to rescue a REAL princess, for Force sake! Luke laughed silently at himself. He couldn't believe his own gall, marching into the heart of the mechanical hive of evil that was detention block of the Death Star, rescuing her like some fabled knight. He was lucky to be in one piece. Leia could really shoot that gun better than he could.

Maybe Han was right about luck being on their side that day, though the more he thought about it, he couldn't help but feel that ol' Ben _was_ right about the Force being stronger than luck. Gods, he missed him. There was still so much he needed to learn from Obi-wan, so many questions left unanswered.

He said that Luke should learn the ways of the Force, but so far, the only sure thing that he knew about the Force was that it made him seem crazy, even to himself.

Though he had not told anyone for fear of being told he needed to pay an emergency visit the med ward for a cranial examination, he knew that he had heard Ben call to him through the Force during the battle. There was no way that he could have made that shot without _some_ kind of aid, and it was indeed almost crazy that he had shut off his targeting computer at the last minute – yet he had done it. The mystery and excitement of it all had him wide awake despite the late hour.

Ben had said that the Force was like a mysterious thread that bound the galaxy together. Luke wondered if he were somehow bound to Leia through the Force; somehow, from the time he saw that holo, he was drawn to her, as though he were meant to rescue Leia…it was simply too astounding that he had succeeded in doing so. It really made him wonder, as it all seemed beyond probability and logic that a farmer would rescue a princess from a military stronghold, then blow up the very same station within hours, with zero preparation.

Luke paused and wondered if Uncle Owen would have finally been proud of him for a change, risking his life to help others of greater importance than he.

All his life he had wished to leave Tatooine to fulfill a greater purpose far beyond his present circumstance, though what that was, he did not know. This feeling had tugged at him from the time he was young, making him restless and impatient with everyone around him. He also couldn't help notice that his Uncle had grown to resent him for his great desire to leave the moisture farm, saying that he was just like his father – yet, never telling him more about the other Skywalker.

Luke sighed. If only he had been there sooner, he might have saved his Aunt and Uncle. A few silent tears began to fall in the darkness as he lay awake in his bunk, thinking upon the only family that he had ever known, now taken from him forever. He was now alone and a true orphan, and his thoughts took a somber turn, eclipsing the happiness he had felt just hours before.

There was indeed a dark side to his newfound freedom, a freedom overshadowed by tragedy and loss, the gravitas of which weighed heavy on his young heart. He was happy that he had almost single-handedly brought down the Empire with the destruction of the Death Star, but was overwhelmed with the thought of so many innocent lives lost at his expense.

It was now dawning on him that in addition to all those on the space station, perhaps his Aunt and Uncle had also died because of him. After all, _he_ had been the one whom had suggested that they exchange the defunct R-5 droid for Artoo, the source of all this trouble to begin with - though he didn't blame his new best friend for being burdened with carrying the Death Star plans.

The dank and humid cabin deep within the Yavin base seemed to grow warmer and more stifiling as the night went on, and Luke removed the thick flight shirt that he had been given to sleep in, feeling sicker by the minute. He had arrived on base with only his tattered farm clothes, and how he was stuck with scratchy military-issue duds. This Yavin humidity was almost too much for him; it was nothing like the dry desert cool of a Tatooine night. He wasn't sure if it was the humidity, or the crushing weight of his upended life and the possibility that he had just committed a heinous war crime – either way, the young man did not feel well.

Luke got up and looked at himself in the mirror; despite his pallor, he was still very tan from the Tatooine sun, and the Viridian stone in his necklace shone bright green against his skin even in the dim light. Luke clutched at the pendant, realizing that it was his only meaningful possession aside from his supposed-father's lightsaber.

He had worn the long necklace for as long as he could remember - and never removed it, concealing it always beneath the folds of his tunic. He thought perhaps it had belonged to his mother, or someone that had once loved him, unconditionally. He was content knowing that he'd never know, as with everything else in his life at the moment: all uncertainty.

His stomach lurched further as he thought of his mother, whom he had never known. Though he wasn't certain, he had surmised that she too had died because of him, losing her life just as he was born into his.

Tears dripped down his face as the young Skywalker grieved.

For his mother and father that surely had loved him before they died. For his Aunt and Uncle that had sacrificed so much to care for him. For Ben, a man that had singlehandedly changed the trajectory of his life in one day. For sweet Leia whom had now just lost not only her parents, but her entire civilization. For the men and women that he had just killed hours before and all of the children that were now orphaned. For the families he had just broken. All this was for justice, for the good of the galaxy. He was supposed to feel good about it, but right now, it felt like there was little to be happy about. For all Luke knew, he was an expendable rebel soldier - a kid without family, documentation, and property - and they'd throw him over to the Empire for the right price. There'd be nothing he could really do about it anyway. He didn't _really_ know these people well, and he hoped that he could continue to trust the good that he somehow sensed in all of them.

There were still so many questions unanswered. Luke wished he'd had the chance to ask Obi-wan more about his true family and the Jedi Order before he had unexpectedly surrendered himself to the Force at the hands of Vader. It was the most surreal vision he had ever had, seeing a man disappear into thin air. Maybe he really was losing it.

Though, the way things were looking, (if he was already beginning to lost his mind) Luke had nothing more to lose in seeking out the ways of the Force as Obi-wan had suggested…maybe even become a Jedi like his father someday.

But, that could wait, at least for right now.

Luke was too wound up to sleep and realized that he had not eaten, nor drank anything in hours. Being upset added nothing to his already stressed system. If there was one thing he learned on the farm, it was to always drink your water any chance you got. He was ignoring his one rule, and he rose to immediately amend the situation.

On his way to the base mess hall and kitchens, Luke stopped to look in on poor Artoo's repairs. Though he knew that everyone on base would be asleep at this unholy hour, he thought Artoo would appreciate the company if he were somewhat functional again after his battle-damage from earlier that day.

He wondered if droids ever became frightened or could feel pain, and then he remembered how Threepio was afraid of almost everything. It made him very sad to think of how few people thought about the _feelings_ of droids. Maybe these two were the exceptions - perhaps they were programmed to have emotions somehow. They seemed to, at least. Artoo was the brave one, he thought. Like a best friend, Luke could tell him anything, and he knew the droid wouldn't judge him. Someday, he thought, he would learn to understand his language of beeps and whistles - this much he owed the little guy.

Luke stopped by the window looking into the repair bay where many other unfinished droids were partially dismantled. It looked like a scary place to be a droid. He could see that Artoo was not on standby reserve power, but shut down completely, his inner circuitry hanging out of his power core, half repaired.

"Awww. It'll be ok, Artoo, I know they'll fix you up, and if they say they can't, I'll do it myself" said Luke to himself, knowing Artoo couldn't hear him.

He paused, then said with a smile,

"You wouldn't want old Threepio to have all the fun bothering Han all by himself now, would you?", he laughed, then noticed the reflection in the glass of someone behind him, watching. Luke was mortified that someone had heard him talking to no one.

Waving at him through the glass of the med ward across the hall was a young woman that he had never seen before, covered in bacta patches and hooked up to various IV units. She must have sensed his momentary bewilderment at seeing her, and calmly gestured for him to come in.

There were so few women on this base – just Leia and Mon Mothma - he was sure that he would have remembered her…then it hit him – he vaguely recalled seeing someone being taken off of the _Falcon_ on a med-stretcher after they had returned to base from the trench run earlier that day. Their excitement was so great that he completely forgot about the injured passenger.

He now recalled that Leia had told him that the woman had been the one who had delivered the Death Star plans to her aboard the _Tantive IV_. Her escape pod had crashed and sent a distress signal to the base; as Rogue Squadron was dispatched into battle, Leia convinced Han to check the crash site before he'd be given his full reward. It was a good thing she had sent him (and a good thing that he likes his credits), because this woman looked as though she might not have lasted another day without medical attention, so pale and weak was she in appearance.

In a way, she saved Luke's life that day – had Han not been sent to rescue her, he never would have had any reason to turn back toward Yavin to assist Luke in the final moments of the battle.

"Wonderful", he thought to himself as he approached the airlock, "the night a beautiful woman decides to talk to me, alone, I'm out roaming around shirtless and feeling grungier than the floor of the Mos Eisley Cantina". He suddenly gestured for her to wait a minute, remembering why he left his cabin in the first place…and quickly ran to the kitchen, returning with two glasses of cloudy water.

The medical droid allowed Luke entry into the medical bay, and he offered the woman the glass. "You can never have too much water, you know…even if it is base water", he said with a goofy smirk.

"Thank you, Commander Skywalker, that is very true – I found that out the hard way. My name is Rue Gunari", said the woman who Luke could now tell was about his age, but maybe just a bit younger.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, please call me Luke….may I call you Rue?" he asked.

"Yes, please do. It seems that my escape pod landed on Tatooine, and I was stranded there for a few days after I escaped the ship." She paused looked at her IV tubes, covering the IV bruise on her unbandaged hand so that he might not see it.

"The pod was from the _Tantive IV_ and the distress signal was luckily sent here, though I had no idea who might receive the signal. I don't think the Imperials would have bothered to come and get me had they intercepted it anyway. If they had, they probably would have killed me, despite my status as a Lieutenant on the Star Destroyer _Vengeance_. Anyway, I saw what these plans were really all about, and I did what I thought was right – I didn't get into this to kill people, but I guess that was going to happen no matter what I did that day. It almost ended up costing me my own life on Tatooine."

Luke listened to her. She seemed to really want someone to talk to right now. He figured that she had probably been alone for days, not to mention that her solitude was on Tatooine. It was the worst…and something he understood far too well.

"I'm so sorry to hear that", said Luke, "but I'm glad that you're alright. Tatooine is the last place you want to be stranded alone and without water!"

"Alone, without water, _and_ sliced to the bone…" said Rue, a somber look running across her beautiful but blood-drained face.

She continued, "The pod had crashed into a craggy and desolate area of the planet - "

"Beggar's Canyon?" interrupted Luke.

"Yes, I believe that's right, how'd you know that?!" said Rue. Luke just smiled a little smile before she continued telling her tale.

"The landing was rougher than the older pod was designed for and much of it was crumpled around me when the landing cushions did not fully deploy. If I tried to move, the broken edges just cut deeper. My hand was crushed beneath heaviest part of the pod, and unfortunately a large portion of the debris pinned me into my seat. I could not free myself, so I activated the distress signal, and waited… and after a few days…prayed to die, to be quite honest." She put a heavily bandaged hand to her chest where Luke guessed her wounds were also most severe, judging by her bulky bacta dressings.

Luke winced at thought of crashing in Beggar's Canyon. He surely had cheated death each and every time he raced there with Biggs, threading the eye of the needle in his T-16, brushing within an inch of death certain destruction. "How _stupid,"_ he thought, reflecting on his younger, naive risks. _Yet_ , had he _not_ taken those risks - he thought - the trench run would have been impossible for him, and the Empire would still be ruling the galaxy. It's funny how some things end up being blessings in disguise, he mused.

Sometimes certain risks are worth taking.

Snapping him back to the present, Rue continued. "Had Captain Solo not come to my aid, I would have soon died from blood loss, or dehydration, surely."

"Or…you'd have been eaten," added Luke, immediately regretting the addition of this information.

"Yeah, I didn't even think of that, but I'm glad I did not become lunch," said Rue. "You know, I don't even want to know!" said she, with a dismissive swat of her good hand at her new acquaintance. It was quite cute, and Luke chuckled at her gesture.

She continued, "Thanks to a bacta submersion and these patches, they say I'll make a full recovery - though these med droids say that I'll likely be permanently scarred. They sure have a way of being blunt about it…"

She looked away from Luke and his perfect tan skin and the beautiful green stone he wore around his neck, catching the light and refracting beautiful patterns.

"So much for beauty," she said with a sigh.

"Lieutenant…please don't talk like that… you are…if I may say with all due respect - ", Luke hesitated…"an attractive woman. I know you must not feel that way right now, and though doesn't mean much at all coming from me, please don't bring yourself down like that. I -"

"-Well…" she smiled, meeting his concerned gaze, "if the hero of the rebellion thinks I'm ok…well, now, that almost makes this whole fiasco worth it," she laughed, a little color returning to her wan cheeks.

"Oh I don't know about this whole hero thing", said Luke, sheepishly. "I'm just here to be a pilot, really," said Luke, suddenly much more excited. "I always dreamed of attending the Naval Academy while growing up on Tatooine…but my Uncle wouldn't allow it." Now he stopped himself. He was complaining again.

Rue thought about interjecting about the Academy, but it was his turn to talk. There'd be plenty of time to talk about that later…she hoped.

"Sadly, he and my Aunt were murdered by Imperial troops looking for my little comrade, Artoo-Detoo, over there across the hall, "

"I'm so sorry, Luke, said Gunari. "I must admit though, it was very touching hearing you speak to Artoo through the glass – I've never seen someone with so much devotion to a droid before. It's very endearing."

Luke's cheeks were now the ones turning crimson.

"Aww well, he's as much of a friend as anyone I've ever known, he said with a smile that quickly faded. "...now that Biggs is dead too", said Luke, as his brilliant azure eyes becoming sadder.

"We bought Artoo and Threepio , the talkative gold droid, to help out on the farm – we were moisture farmers, you see- not knowing that they were both stolen property….and _definitely_ not suspecting that Artoo was carrying your stolen plans", Luke explained.

"I stumbled upon Leia's message, and soon after, Artoo set off across the desert to carry out his mission to deliver the plans, and I followed him with Threepio. Had I not done so, I'd have been killed too. It is all one giant coincidence that I am here at all."

Rue didn't know what to say.

It was ultimately because of her actions that Luke's family had died.

Had she chosen to be a good Lieutenant and follow the rules, this would have never happened.

Had anything come of the years of empty promises fed to her at the Academy and within the Captain's private quarters, perhaps _she'd_ be the First Officer by now, and could have put a stop to this. Somehow.

This was wishful thinking, she knew.

There was no room for a female commander in the Imperial ranks, despite years of thinking she'd succeed. The only thing she could have done to affect anything was to do what she had already done. If she had _not_ acted, who knew how many other systems would have suffered the fate of Alderaan. It was just wrong, no matter what side you were on.

"Luke….I know that nothing I say can change what happened to you, but I want you to know that I am incredibly sorry for your loss…a loss that happened ultimately because of….my actions -"

"-No Rue", said Luke matter-of-factly as he grasped her non-bandaged left hand. "You could not have known that. You did what you did for a very good reason, and because of you, the Death Star is no longer a threat to the galaxy. I know that the loss of my aunt and uncle is still nothing compared to the loss of entire planets and species, though I am just as devastated as Leia at the loss of her entire planet."

"Please, don't be sorry for me", he said softly with a sad smile that could not hide sad eyes… and then yawned, breaking the tension in the room.

"Well I know one thing's for certain, looks like you need your beauty sleep…farmboy!", said Rue, teasingly. "You just destroyed the galaxy's most fearsome super weapon…what in space are you doing up at this hour anyway?!"

Luke gave her a tired little smirk and rolled his eyes, jestingly. "Well, for one, I'm talking to you, Miss Gunari. I'm a restless sleeper these days, but maybe that was because you needed someone to talk to…that's my job now, talk less, listen more."

"Ooh well then, Skywalker", she replied, somewhat flirtatiously, "I'm flattered that you would think that. I'll be here _all week_ if you are dying to be an ear for more late night Imperial gossip!"

"Yes ma'am!" said her visitor with a grin and a mock salute.

He was acting like a _real_ moof-milker, but she thought it was insanely cute.

"You're in luck, because we aren't going anywhere just yet", said Luke as he stood up to leave.

"The loss of the Death Star was enough of a crippling blow to buy us a bit of time before the base demands relocation…. I'm, ah, not really sure that I should be talking about this particular aspect with you though, I'm sorry…" Luke trailed off, a bit caught off guard, remembering her Imperial affiliation.

"Luke, it's ok. I know you have no reason to fully trust me. I _am_ an Imperial Lieutenant…well…a former one, at any rate."

He regained his composure, and took a step closer to her, taking her hand in his again.

"Well, Imperial or not…" said Luke, as their eyes met.

He gently lifted her hand toward his lips as he leaned down.

"I'm not afraid…"

And kissed her hand.

"…of the woman that saved my life. Twice."

Rue did not know what to say to that, so instead she felt content to turn to an even greater pile of mushy gush than she already was in this med ward.

Turning to leave, Luke said, "Goodnight, Miss Gunari".

"Goodnight, farmboy", said Rue, cocking an eyebrow at him, which was about all she could manage do after that very unexpected and sweet kiss.

Rue watched him leave the room, and caught him glancing back through the window with a gleam in his eye, just as he walked out of view. Rue let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding, bit her lip, and then allowed herself to smile. If that was how one recovered on the rebel base, she might not mind staying in here an extra few days afterall, she said to herself, her thoughts now racing despite the drugs she was being pumped with.

She suddenly felt so tired, which was odd - she hadn't felt worn out at all while Luke was there. Maybe he is a good distraction from all of the pain. Maybe he is more than that…no, she couldn't go there, not with all that was at stake.

As tired as she now realized she was, there was still no wiping the smile off of her now rosy face.

That _kiss_.

And it was _just_ on the _hand_.

"Oh, pull yourself together, Gunari."

As good of a lover as he had been, Captain Thrawn had never kissed her like _that_ before.


	2. Swirling Thoughts

**Chapter 2: Swirling Thoughts**

* * *

Luke could not wipe the ridiculous grin off his face as he quietly padded down the corridor back to his quarters.

The halls were completely quiet - the only sounds were Luke's footsteps and the low mechanical whirrings of the sleeping base.

Had he _really_ just kissed that Imperial woman's hand? Since when had he become so bold?! Needless to say, his emotional state was really not the greatest right now…maybe that had been a really _really_ bad decision.

Luke knew that he was old-fashioned, and liked to take things slow – so slow in fact that he had never _really_ kissed a woman before, not how he _wanted_ to.

It was more than a little embarrassing to think about, now that he was almost twenty years old, but Tatooine was just _not_ the place to go out and meet women - not the kind that he wanted to meet, anyway. Not only that, but Moisture farming was _not_ the kind of job that attracted many admirers…only the desperate kind. There was one girl, Venussia, but he was fortunate that it never went anywhere – she had turned out to be trouble. She had heard that Moisture Farming was a highly profitable business, and when she discovered that Luke's family was as poor as could be, she ended all communications with him.

After that, Luke had hoped to go to the Academy not only to work towards becoming a pilot, but also to finally cure his loneliness, and maybe find a real girlfriend for once. If only his Uncle could have understood that he was crushing _more_ than just his career goals each year that he denied him leave from the farm.

His swirling thoughts raced back to Rue.

She liked it too…he just knew it! Or maybe this was yet another delusion made possible by his mind's crisis-mode at the moment. It was a very bad way to cope…

"Maybe I had better cool it, I don't want her reporting me", he said aloud to himself as he made his way back to his quarters. She _is_ a guest here. And for all he knew, she _could_ be a spy."

"Hell, she is the _enemy_. I'm wanted by the Empire…"

What in space was he doing?

"Oh boy, am I going to get it! That was probably the worst thing I could have possibly done – Leia is going to flip out that I told Rue _anything_."

Luke paused in the hallway to process his sobering thoughts.

He knew that Leia's first impulse would be to send Rue right back to where she came from to be dealt with by the Imperials in their own special way. She did not want any more bounty hunter bait hanging around than was absolutely necessary…but, if Han could stay, then he surmised that by that logic, Rue could stay too. She was as much of a "hero" as he was. AND, if she were forced to go back, things _could_ backfire for the Rebellion if Rue decided to betray them in any way…"no small thanks to me and my big mouth", said Luke to no one.

"But, you know what? I don't care…let Leia flip out a little bit!" he snickered to himself, thinking about Leia's now-notorious short fuse as he resumed walking. She owed him one.

He knew he had almost died in that battle; had it not been for Han, he'd have been toast. But he wasn't dead – far from it - he was alive, and for the first time, actually _felt_ like it too if he were being honest about it. If he wanted to kiss a beautiful woman, then dammit, he wasn't going to feel sorry about it, he reasoned.

He just hoped that she wanted him too. _There was no reason she should_ , he thought to himself.

"I've spent far too much of my life feeling sorry about things. No more. It's time to move forward- " said Luke just as he opened the door and walked right into his bunkmate, Wedge Antilles, having just staggered in from a late night as well.

"Woah there! I'd say…it's time for bed, boss, don't you think so?" said Wedge, looking sleepy but in surprisingly good spirits.

Wedge was Luke's best wingman and newest friend since the battle. Though they had known each other for only a short time now, Luke could tell they'd be friends for life.

So few of the Rogues had made it back alive, and Wedge was taking it particularly hard, he knew, though he hid it well. Luke understood his friend's grief all too well; though Luke had really only known Biggs – Wedge had been close with _all_ of the Rogues, and only he, Farlander of Gold Squadron, and Luke had made it out alive. Wedge would talk about it when he was good and ready, Luke knew. His friend needed time to cope. They all did.

"Wedge!" said Luke, "Sorry, I hope I didn't startle you! I was wondering where you had gone."

"Ah well, the mechanics and a few of the pilots were up late making a few repairs to the fleet so that we could relax a bit more tomorrow – we have the huge ceremony to prepare for in a few days, you know, and wanted to leave at least a day in between to get the grime and grease off of ourselves!", said Wedge with a laugh looking at his black, grease-stained hands and filthy nails. "We _may_ have also indulged in a few frothy beverages as well…just a _few_. I looked for you, but I figured you might have wanted to sleep after all the recent excitement...so I had one..or three for you."

"Oh haha, that's ok Wedge, thanks. At least I'm not the only one up this late", said Luke, still smiling.

Wedge noticed, and said "Say, what's got _you_ so wide awake at this hour anyway?"

"Oh you know, the usual. I couldn't sleep, so I went to grab some water, then checked up on Artoo, oh, and, uh, spent the rest of the night talking with a _beautiful woman_ —" said Luke, casually.

"Wow Luke, I've heard some tall tales on this base, but never have I heard that one before - we all know there's one woman on this base, and she wants nothin' to do with pilots!" said Wedge, elbowing Luke in the arm. He could only imagine why and how Leia had developed such a reputation as the Ice Princess.

"Hey now, I'm not kidding, Wedge! She's the woman that stole the Death Star plans; she was rescued by Han before he rejoined the battle, and has been recovering in the med bay ever since." said Luke.

"She was a Lieutenant aboard the Star Destroyer that captured the _Tantive IV_. Instead of carrying out her orders to bring Leia in for questioning, she instead slipped her the plans, and jumped in an escape pod headed for Tatooine during the scuffle."

Wedge smiled and raised his eyebrows, clearly not intoxicated enough to lose his sense of humor. If he had worn oculars, he'd have shot Luke a sly and knowing glassy-eyed look over the top of them.

"Our very own Red Five, goes an' blows up the ol' Death Star, and then fraternizes with an Imperial dame, all 'n one night – well, sir, I'm impressed." slurred Wedge as he climbed into his bunk. "She could be a real _ally_ ", he added with an exaggerated wink before sinking back into the covers.

Luke just rolled his eyes, and then threw the nearest pile of dirty flight-clothes at him! "Real funny, Wedge", laughed Luke, before laughing even harder as Wedge didn't even try to bat the wretched payload away, instead letting it cover his face. Wedge just let out a tired grumble beneath the pile, and then mumbled, "Oh thank you, dear. I'm all tucked in now…nighty night!"

Now _that_ was a man that was thoroughly exhausted, and maybe more than a little tipped from a night of drinking with the boys. Luke could forgive him for his teasing…for now; he'd be sure to get him back later. "Alright, 'night Wedge".

With the smile that had yet to leave his face, Luke climbed into his bunk, laughing again upon hearing Wedge's muffled snores filtering through his "blankets" not a minute later.

Lying in the darkness, Luke's thoughts returned to Rue – her face as he'd kissed her hand, her bandaged hand and body, her beautiful auburn hair falling around him – wait, around _her_! – _get a grip Skywalker!_ – and now, being all alone in the med ward with the creepy med-droids. He wondered what had really made her betray the Empire, and literally jump-ship.

Luke knew she must've had a good reason to put her life in the special brand of jeopardy reserved only for those that wronged the Empire…especially for those that sided with the Alliance in any way.

Maybe she would tell him more, in time.

One thing was for sure - not every Imperial was "bad", and surely not every Rebel was strictly "good" – people were just people, doing what they do, regardless of what insignia they displayed, thought Luke as he finally grew tired. His sadness had temporarily lifted, and he could finally begin to rest.

Above all, he hoped that she would never have to endure any more pain at the hands of the Empire. In his last moments of consciousness, Luke decided that he'd visit her again tomorrow – he had something very important that he wanted to ask her.

Hopefully, she would be well enough to accept…


	3. Done-for

**Chapter 3: Done-for**

* * *

[The next morning]

Luke was in for a rude awakening.

Wedge had woken up first, and carefully placed _all_ of last night's dirty duds all around Luke, crafting for him a cozy little odorous nest to wake up in.

He was trying not to laugh as he proceeded with his stealthy prank, as he knew Luke would likely wake up and hit his head on the top bunk once he realized what was resting on his face. He _really_ didn't want to ruin it by laughing.

Wedge was in a good mood this morning, because now that the Death Star was gone, maybe he could start thinking about settling down somewhere _permanent_ , rather than living base-to-base as he'd grown accustomed to during the past five years. He wasn't getting any younger - none of them were.

As much as he liked being a pilot, he knew he couldn't keep doing this job forever. The near-total loss of their squadron was a sobering reminder that time was precious, and also slipping by each day.

His friendly and humorous demeanor concealed a well-hidden undercurrent of loneliness and despair that slowly ate at him each day - a feeling that ultimately drove him to the Rebellion.

Young Antilles joined soon after returning home from his repair station late one night to find his Corellian family slain in their sleep; a panicked unanswered holo from his girlfriend sent ice through his veins. His worst fears were soon confirmed, she too was slain, but much more violently. She had put up a fight – his family was too afraid to fight them.

The Empire took everyone that he truly loved away from him. He wasn't there to save them.

He never even had the chance to start his own family.

He was going to propose in a few days.

They tore that joy from him.

Why couldn't they let anyone be happy?

He still kept the ring, just in case the sun rose on the right side of the galaxy one day.

Now it was impossible to find anyone willing to defy the Empire enough to openly be with a Rebel pilot.

Even if he grew old, alone and lonely, never again would he let another family die or suffer. Not on his watch.

Wedge let out a heavy sigh as he walked into the 'fresher, and just stood there, looking at the greys that now peppered his jet-black hair.

Perhaps he was too young to be worried so much. But if he were being honest with himself, he _really_ wanted to start a family now that the Empire had finally been taken care of. Maybe now the galaxy was finally safe enough to begin considering the possibility of bringing another life into this world.

A galaxy ruled by evil was no place for a child - a child that on one day might be happy and have everything at her feet, only to wake the next day suddenly alone alone amidst in a vicious, heartless reality. He didn't want his child to live in a world where nightmares were real.

He knew he'd be lucky if he ever had the chance to live in a galaxy free from evil, and even luckier to regain some of his old life back….

Worrying could wait though, for now.

Today was a day to relax, and Wedge decided that the best way to honor the fallen Rogues was to throw one hell of a party, just as they would have wanted after the greatest victory the Rebellion could have imagined.

There was a lot to do today, but at least the remaining vessels were inventoried, parts were on order, and there were a few ships on standby… just in case. " _UGH Stars,_ I hope we don't need to use them anytime soon!" grumbled Wedge to himself.

Last night's grease was _almost_ out of his hands – not that there'd be anyone to impress tomorrow anyway, thought Wedge, sighing to himself.

"Oh well, at least we're going to look damn fine!", he said, checking himself in the mirror one final time. He could _finally_ have two whole days without helmet hair, he thought, as his mood lifted.

As he finished contemplating his hair and party preparations in the 'fresher mirror, Wedge noticed for the first time that everything in their quarters belonged to him.

Wedge had a sobering thought: Luke had _nothing_ except his lightsaber, and the clothes on his back…"well, the clothes that were now awaiting his consciousness to catch up to his nose", Wedge reminded himself with a smirk before his thoughts returned to Luke's situation.

Last night before going out with the guys, he had heard all about what Luke had been through just this week– the sudden loss of his family, and the murder of his mentor at the hands of Vader. Some say the old man had been a Jedi.

Wedge suddenly realized that he had not seen nor heard of _anyone_ in possession of a lightsaber since the Clone Wars. He wondered if Luke would become a Jedi – if that were even possible anymore.

He really hoped so – this galaxy could really use a few more "good guys".

That would make his job a heck of a lot easier, he thought with a sigh.

Wedge decided that the first order of business would be to make sure Luke had a good day tomorrow, he knew the Rogues would have wanted it that way. It was the least he could do to help his new friend out. He reflected upon the weeks after the loss of his own family, how he had wished he had one true friend to make him feel a little better while he was grieving, to be there if he needed him.

Knowing Luke had a lot on his mind, Wedge decided to take post-ceremonial preparations into his own hands, letting Luke take the day to do whatever he needed…he'd get the droid crew and mechanics to help out if needed.

As he strode out of the dark room, he stopped suddenly, recalling a foggy memory of Luke, all worked up about some mystery woman on base - of all the crazy things he'd heard! …oh Force, if only _that_ were true! He better not be talking about Mon Mothma! Maybe he _had_ really discovered his limit last night…

Now grinning to himself, he knew exactly what he was going to do for Luke.

Though it wasn't much – and frankly, not much was possible on a bare-bones base in the middle of a dense jungle - he knew that his wingman would really appreciate the gesture, as small as it would be.

As he resumed walking out the door, Wedge could have _sworn_ he heard a certain bunkmate wake up as – "WEDGE!" – echoed off the rocky walls of the base.

He could not contain his laughter as he made his way toward the 'Cargo Holdings' bay where Luke's surprise awaited.

0000000000000000

Luke rubbed his forehead. He had woken up to Wedge's trap and hit his head on the prankster's upper bunk.

He had to admit, it was pretty funny, but he would get him back… _real_ good. Though he was an only-child, Luke already felt that he had found a long-lost brother in Wedge. It was a refreshing feeling, not to be so alone.

Speaking of alone - before he attended to any preparations for tomorrow, he decided that he had to go see how Rue was. He hoped that she was recovering alright and that she would be feeling much better after her second night in the med bay.

His stomach was churning as he quickly readied himself for the day, and for what he wanted to ask her. Why was this so nerve-wracking? Blowing up the Death Star felt a lot easier right about now.

As Skywalker left his room, he was happy to find that the base was alive with energy despite everyone's exhaustion after the battle. There was so much to do: pick up the pieces after yesterday, prepare for tomorrow's ceremony, pack everything up, scout out a new location for the upcoming relocation, move… it was a lot. He decided that if he were stressing about it, Leia must be doubly stressed, so he took the long way, knocking on her door.

"Leia! It's Luke, you in there?" No answer. He knocked again. Still nothing. "Well, maybe she's busy – everyone will be bugging her today, I'm sure," he thought. He hoped that she was doing ok. Surely their victory had left her with a sense of justice.

As he finally strode up to the med bay window, the droids had screened off the room.

Oh no, what was happening? His gut sank. I hope she's alright. They could be doing anything in there. Surgery. Amputation. She could be…dead.

He ducked into the droid room to calm his nerves and was pleasantly surprised to find Artoo on standby power. It looks like they had managed to work on him a little bit since he'd found him shut down last night. He let out a relieved sigh - at least _one_ thing was working out properly.

"Hey old buddy, I hope they're taking good care of you here, I'll be back later to make sure you're out of here in no time", he said to the droid. He still didn't think he could hear him, but in case he did, he wanted to reassure him. He found it a bit morbid that the sick bays for both droids and humans were directly across from one another. He said to Artoo, "I guess if someone needs a hand, they can just walk across the hall!" No answer. "I know I know, _baaad_ joke" he said to himself, laughing at his own goofy humor.

The rustle of the shielding caught his attention, and then he saw that Leia was in there with Rue, and not only that, she was up!

When he was sure they were finished up with whatever they were doing, he approached the window, and waved at Rue. She pointed at him, and Leia turned around with a big smile on her face.

Uh oh.

It was bad.

Girl talk.

He was done-for.


	4. Star Tour

**Chapter 4: Star Tour**

* * *

Leia waved him in, and as he entered, he could feel his cheeks flushing.

"Miss Gunari here was telling me how gracious you were with your time last night…" said Leia with a smile.

He was _sure_ that he was red now.

She continued: "You will be happy to know that she has been cleared to leave the bay a few days early. It seems that good company is indeed the best medicine..."

Luke was shocked that Leia was so friendly toward Rue – he was sure she'd be chomping at the bit to get her out of there. He hadn't seen Leia interact with any other women before, but maybe she was in need of a girlfriend just as much as he needed any friend at all. Maybe she's recruiting her…

"I'd love to stay, but I have to meet General Reeikan about tomorrow – there's not enough time to do anything around here! - but maybe you could give her a quick tour of the base…?"

"Sure, I'd love to", said Luke. Rue looked happy. She looked more than happy; she was beautiful. Though she still bore many of her bandages, the color had returned to her face, and she no longer looked so gaunt. This of course only inflamed Luke's nerves, and he did the best he could not to give himself away, though that was probably a losing battle at this point.

As Leia left the room, she stuck her tongue out at him and made a funny face. He smiled at her. He knew she was probably going to see Han, not the General. Ever since he returned to aid the Rogues in the battle, she had had a sudden change of heart towards the smuggler - for what reason, Luke had no idea.

Han seemed like all-around trouble: debts to gangsters and thugs, a decrepit and unreliable ship, a shady past, and a highly desirable, flighty noncommittal attitude – the stuff dreams are made of, thought Luke. Leia was beautiful and insanely smart, and he had initially had his heart set on her, but as of last night, he was beginning to seriously question those feelings.

"Good morning, Miss Gunar-"started Luke. "Just Rue, remember?", she interrupted with a half-smile. "Rue. I hope you slept well – it looks like you did, you look very well-healed, wow!"

"Yes, thank you for noticing. The droids were surprised that I made such a quick recovery – they say that after tonight, I'll be able to take the bacta bandages off during the day, and only wear them at night while I sleep. I can live with that for awhile." she said, contently.

"Leia was helping me with the bandages," she said gesturing to her entire torso. "The droids are good, but they're not _that_ good…and I'm no good with a bum hand!"

"Aww don't worry about it, I'll help you…if you need it," said Luke before he realized that Leia was helping her for a reason. He was really moofing this up good.

"Thanks, farmboy, I'll let you know", she replied, elbowing him harder than he expected her to.

He laughed, and quickly changed the subject… "Alright, boss, tour's leaving!", announced Luke, as he pretended to run out the door.

He had broken the ice again, and began to feel a little less worried. He was afraid that last night had been a dream and that today would be yet another day of sobering reality-checks.

Luke felt sorry for her as she got up and moved toward the door much more slowly than he had anticipated.

"You might think I'm healed, but I guess that means I'm a good actress!", she laughed. "As long as we walk slowly, I'll be ok…promise." Luke helped her get out of bed and onto her feet.

"Anything you need, just ask. We can go do this later if you want to rest further-" "No", said Rue, interrupting him much more sternly than she intended. She softened. "Sorry, I'm not used to allowing myself to appear vulnerable to anyone…it's a bit of a bad habit from hanging around all of those _gentlemen_ aboard the _Vengeance_ ".

Luke made a mental note of that. "I understand. For what it's worth, I don't judge you for being injured," he said, as she finally made it over toward the door.

"Thanks. And anyway, the droids say that it's actually good for me to get a little bit of exercise. I spent too much time stuck in the pod, and I guess that made me a bit weak, on top of the blood loss….gosh this is so embarrassing…" she trailed off as Luke changed the subject.

"Well, lucky for you, this will be a short tour, as there really isn't much to see," started Luke as he offered her his arm for support, "but hopefully you will enjoy seeing how the other half lives". Rue took his chivalrous arm. At first, she seemed surprisingly tense about taking his unspoken offer, but as they walked down the hallway, she began to loosen up much to Luke's relief.

"So…I should probably tell you that I am pretty new here too, so please forgive my horrendous tour," said Luke as a few crewmen passed them in the hall. Rue could feel all eyes on her and her ridiculous med-gown and bandages. Skywalker didn't seem to care one bit that she looked absolutely horrible, she noted to herself.

Luke continued on, drawing her attention back to the base and off the pain that she was still in.

"Now, what I _do_ know is that this base is within a 5000 year old Massassi Temple to a Sith Lord that turned the native people into slaves to the darkside of the force."

They both looked at each other with raised eyebrows as if they were thinking the same crazy thought. "I know, right?" said Luke.

"Hey, that sounds like the crew of my ship", joked Rue with a chuckle. Her slight Coruscanti accent was really beginning to grow on him.

"Oh I don't doubt that for a second," said Luke. "Everything I hear about the Force is fascinating, but the more I learn about it, the more it worries me." Luke was silent for a moment. "I'm not sure anyone should be wielding that much power, for good or for evil - sometimes the lines blur and you can't tell what is right anymore."

Their timing couldn't have been more perfect. As they approached the great double doors before them, Luke gestured to the ornate carvings that framed the entranceway to the enormous chamber.

"Apparently this room is the only chamber that we have not updated or altered within the usable portions of the base. And for good reason; these carvings seem to tell the story of the rise to power of the Sith Lord to whom this temple is dedicated. The funny thing is, there is nothing about them that indicate the inborn evil nature of the Sith – at least as I have come to understand it recently."

Luke continued pondering the imagery aloud.

"Well, the more I look at it, it looks like the main subject has a choice, rather than it being about a predestined _rise_ to power beginning on one side, rising to the top, and then later falling to evil," he said with excited hand gestures.

"Maybe the figure at the top tells us that the potential for good or evil is within all of us; it is simply up to the subject to choose which side. Here, on one side of the door is the light side, the other the dark, each offering different but equally great powers."

The dark side of the doorway reflected imagery that suggested an insatiable, infinite power with relentless hunger for supremacy; one that promised bottomless wealth and the voracious gratification of immediate desires. But for all of its temptations, it did not appear to radiate happiness…and it looked exhausting. In fact, Luke began to feel tired just looking at it.

They slowly moved over to the light side of the door; it seemed to reflect a patient power that seemed to rule over one's internal domain while remaining atuned to all surrounding objects and beings, like a low, slow vibration. It promoted understanding and transparency of thought, which seemed to include honesty and trust in all things but most importantly trust in oneself.

It in fact looked like the light side was chiefly about connection and inner trust more than 'power' in the traditional sense. Perhaps the power of the light side was that of great clarity and calmness even in dire situations.

One's definition of 'power' seemed to be at the core of using the Force. Though the light side looked much more reassuring to Luke, he sadly noted that he did not get a sense of happiness radiating from the light side either – just a sense of boundless understanding, and an even more profound loneliness.

Luke knew what it felt like to be lonely. He wasn't sure he wanted to think about becoming even more isolated if he chose to become a Jedi.

"Perhaps at one time, all Force-users were of the same 'side', as represented by the figure at the top of the doorway, and only later split into these factions…or WAIT, maybe what this is saying is that the Force must remain in 'balance' and either side of the door warns of the turmoil that occurs when the scales tip to far to either side….either side looks as though it leads to unhappiness, be it individually, or within an entire population…maybe it is about embodying the balance of both sides - too much selfishness or too much selflessness…"

Rue touched Luke's arm. He was so excited about this, so deep in thought; his intuition about all of this was very impressive, and she thought that perhaps he would one day be a great teacher, or a great leader.

"Maybe that's just what they want us to believe," said Rue. "Propaganda is not a new art form, I'll tell you that much."

"Hah, true enough," Luke continued. "Maybe everyone starts out good, and then life forces them to make choices that influence their destiny. To me, it looks like these carvings suggest that powers bestowed by the Force are ultimately shaped by the choices we make, not ones that are destined. In other words, it sounds like we can choose how we use the Force - it's our job to turn on the light, or remain in darkness…maybe we need both sides to remain sane."

"Well, it sounds like you really know a lot about it. I'll tell you, it is very different from what the Empire teaches. The "official story" is that the Jedi were a smaller faction of rogues that went against the wise teachings of the true Force masters, the Sith," said Rue, shaking her head.

They both looked at one carving that showed a single figure surrounded by a group of smaller figures. It was near the top of the door – the 'neutral zone'.

"The Jedi were painted in a bad light for official records, but everyone knows that the Sith were responsible for the assassination of all known Jedi before either of us were were born. The Empire claims that the Jedi Order could not sustain their numbers and eventually died out, however, there is a cold case of at least thirty missing children, all of whom were rumored to be Jedi-in-training around the time of the sudden "dying out" of the Jedi."

Luke furrowed his brow. "I would not put it past them to murder children judging by these images. I wonder if these are supposed to be children surrounding this figure," said he, as he ran his fingers along the ancient stone.

"They look so happy here. Oh, I don't know. Maybe it is the Massassi worshiping their Sith. How disgusting…" Luke trailed off, not sure if he was getting in over his head again.

He looked to Rue and let out a heavy sigh. "Well, someday I'll find out the truth. There has to be more than this. I wonder if these could be-"

"Prophecies?" Said the duo at the same time. They both laughed at their sudden connection. "Too much Force-talk", said Luke with a chuckle.

"They _have_ to be", said Rue. "Clearly, they wanted someone to see this. It must've taken decades to carve. Luke, when you do figure all of this out, will you find me and tell me? I always had faith in the Empire until I saw what the _Death Star_ was capable of, and when that happened, I began to question _everything_ they had taught me. Clearly there is more to the Jedi than the Sith want anyone to know about…and guess who runs the Empire?"

"The _baddies_?," joked Luke with that moofy grin of his. They both laughed as Luke pushed open the giant doors leading into the vast and gorgeous temple-room. "Anyway, let's check out the room real quick…it is what we call the 'Grand Audience Chamber'. It's where we are having the ceremony tomorrow."

Rue and Luke poked their heads in. It was dark except for the giant slit windows at the center of the grand altar, which gave the room an air of ancientness that was sadly absent from the rest of the explored portions of the temple-base. Interestingly, it was not warm and humid within the great chamber, but cool and dry.

"Remind me to explore every nook and cranny of this place, ok?" requested Luke as they closed the giant slab doors.

Through her yawn, Rue said, "I don't know about you but all of that Force-pondering has made me tired…shall we take a pit-stop, mister Star Tours director, sir?"

They continued past the mess hall and continued on into the war room where they decided to take a break.


	5. Maybe You Are a Jedi

**Chapter 5: Maybe You Are a Jedi**

* * *

When they finally sat down, they both felt drained. Luke felt sorry that they had spent so much time looking at the carvings and was now a bit embarrassed that he had failed his one job – to make sure that she was ok.

"I'm sorry if I got a little distracted back there. You were standing the entire time and I should have made sure you were comfortable above anything else. I'll pay more attention from now on-"

"I'm fine, Luke, but thank you. You are already exceedingly considerate – please don't be sorry," she said softly.

Even with the battle being long-over, the _Death Star_ holo was still illuminated on the center console before them.

"What a great and terrible creation. Man is capable of so much – imagine if that power had been used for good. Luke, what if you are right about the Force needing 'balance'…what if this was a sign that the universe is leaning toward too much darkness." Rue let out a sigh.

"I am so glad that I stole those plans, and the weird thing was that somehow, I just felt that I _needed_ to. Maybe I'm just crazy, but one day I woke up, and had this overwhelming feeling that I needed to take action."

"I know what you mean. Sometimes I feel that way – it was like that when I took the shot to blow up this space-ball," said Luke with a gesture to the holo. "...I just felt that it was the _right_ time..and it worked."

Maybe now was the right time to tell her something more about himself.

"You know, when we were escaping the _Death Star_ , I saw Vader strike down my mentor, Obi-wan (or as I liked to call him) "old Ben" Kenobi – he was going to teach me, you know."

"Wait, what do you mean, _teach_ you?" Rue shot him a puzzled look.

"Well…I wasn't going to say anything because I highly doubt that I have what it takes, but Ben was going to train me in the ways of the Force..."

Rue's jaw dropped a little bit at his words. Luke was a Jedi?!

"Haha, yes, my reaction exactly. He thought I had what it took to become a Jedi…like my father, and that is how I ended up here in the first place," said Luke, looking down as his boots in the darkened war room.

He continued on. "But I highly doubt that it's possible. Ben was the last of them, and now, well here I am!", said Luke with a sigh. "I hate to say it, but I'm really no one. I don't think I have the Force like he thought I did." said the hero as if he were confessing his darkest secret.

"And now, I'll never know."

Rue realized that it was his turn to talk, so she allowed him to continue on when he was ready.

Everything was beginning to sink in. Maybe he really _was_ a Jedi…he did just seem to _understand_ those ancient carvings, as though he were speaking the prophecy that no one else could read in the stone images.

If she were being perfectly honest with herself, she had never met anyone like Luke before. Usually, men were very guarded about their feelings, and very skeptical of a woman in "their" domain, but Luke was nothing like them, as if he were from a bygone era in which men were not afraid of their emotions or the strength of the women by their side. Perhaps she was hanging out with too many deck officers and one very commandeering Chiss Captain, but Rue was sure that she would never meet anyone like Luke again.

As she waited for him to speak again, she watched him as he closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he leaned back into the chair as if he were trying to calm his thoughts, which were surely spinning after interpreting the carvings for as long as they had been. He had not had much time to process all that had happened this past week, and it was coming at him in waves, she could tell.

Rue knew he would never see it in himself, but to Rue, he looked so _beautiful_ , even in his profound sadness that he had otherwise concealed so well in her presence. His vulnerability and emotions were somehow lain bare as if she could somehow feel them as he now did – something she had never felt before from anyone; maybe it was because deep down, she felt the same emotions and saw them reflecting right back at her.

She was hurting too.

Rue closed her eyes. She then felt overwhelmed with the feeling that he _needed_ to tell her about _everything;_ about things that he had not even said; about things that had not even happened. Somehow this raw openness was more beautiful to her than any physical trait that he might already possess; his timeless grace made her think that somehow he'd always look this way to her: a beautiful man, even in old age.

In her mind, she imagined sitting close to him and telling him that it was going to be ok. They'd be ok.

For a few minutes or hours they just sat there. The only sound: the hum of the antiquated equipment cutting the silence; the blinking lights and radar holos the only light illuminating the darkness.

A low rumble woke Luke from the flood of emotions that had suddenly overtaken him. As he looked up at the enormous hangar bay doors that were now slowly opening hundreds of meters away, he realized that he had been silently crying.

The sunlight filtered into the room as the distant bay doors opened at a glacial pace, illuminating Luke with the beautiful golden glow of the early sunset over Yavin, almost as if the Force had wanted to reassure him that he was indeed _someone_ , not just some poor kid growing old while watching the sun set on his happiness, as it always seemed to.

Rue did not even notice the rumble – probably because rumbles were the norm on a Star Destroyer – but she seemingly could not break away from the thoughts she was _experiencing_ from Luke; for a surreal moment that seemed to last an eternity, she felt that nothing in the galaxy could make her break away…

…nothing except Luke's calm but intense blue-eyed gaze now staring back at her in a golden halo of light.

He did not hide his tear-streaked face from her. For some reason, he didn't care if she really saw him for who he was.

"Luke."

"I….I don't know what to say…" said Rue, calmly…strangely not at all embarrassed that he'd caught her in such an intense state of…what…meditation, was it?

"You aren't just 'no one'.

The light of the sunset continued to flood the room as she continued.

"I've never seen a Jedi in my life, but I can tell, somehow, that you will become one, perhaps the greatest. Somehow, I just know it. And even if you choose not to, you are a _good man_. You _care_ about people. You care about….me…. _I'm_ 'no one' but yet here you are. "

Now _she_ was crying.

Why was she crying?

What had just happened? Was it the meds?

She never allowed herself be seen crying, least of all by a high-ranking officer. Why was she beating herself up like this?

Luke stood up and drew her up into an embrace that she did not know she needed, bringing her into the warmth of his sunlight. A warmth that was almost _healing_.

They pulled apart when the room suddenly grew dark again; the sun had descended into quick darkness – or had hours passed once again?

"Rue," whispered Luke. "I…I'm sorry…I don't know what just happened, but it was…beautiful." He smiled a little. "I…somehow felt _connected_ to your mind for a moment, I know that sounds…. _impossible_."

She smiled at him – they were roughly the same height, which she really loved about him.

"I felt it too. Maybe that means you really _are_ a Jedi, Luke."

He pulled her close once again, careful not to crush her injured body.

"I hope that I choose the right path," he said, weary yet hopeful. "I feel like I don't know what I'm doing."

"But," he continued, again remembering his earlier nervousness – " I do know that I want to ask you if you would do me the honor of attending the ceremony reception with me tomorrow…you don't have to, of course."

"Would you stop apologizing for yourself, Skywalker?", she teased. "I would love to. But, you will have to beg Leia to help me find some appropriate attire…unless this med-gown does something for you, farmboy…" she said with raised eyebrows and a smirk that made him laugh.

"Well, I hope you like my farm clothes because that's that fanciest stuff I own! I'm sure we'll figure something out. I don't think it's going to be a big deal or anything anyway, just a quick thank-you and get-together. We don't tend to over-do things around here, from what I gather."

For once in a long while, Luke finally felt a bit more at peace with himself. He was happy that someone understood what he was going through, even if that person was still almost a total stranger, and an Imperial, to boot.

"Come on, let's get you back to the med droids, they'll have my neck if you aren't hooked up to all your fancy machines pretty soon…and they _could_ really have my neck if they wanted to…ever think about _that?"_

"Well, I will have _you_ to thank for my nightmares tonight, thank you Commander Jedi," teased Rue. "Though, I don't think I will be having any bad dreams any time soon."

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Luke made sure that his friend was comfortably ready for bed, and offered to help her change her hand wrappings which he knew would be difficult for her to do alone.

"Ooh, I'm almost afraid to look. Oh Gods, I really don't know if you want to see it, it was horrible yesterday" groaned Rue.

"Well, the sooner we patch you up, the sooner it will get better, right?" reasoned Luke. Rue nodded.

Her right hand hurt. A lot. Much more than it had hours earlier. It had not only been sliced up and burned a bit in her struggle to free herself from the escape pod, it had also been crushed upon initial impact in Beggar's Canyon. Removing the bandages was bad enough…what would regaining proper strength feel like, if that were even possible?

She winced when she looked at her now-exposed hand. It had once been a nice hand, she thought…now it was three different colors. What did the rest of her look like? She almost felt faint…

Luke stopped what he was doing and waited until she looked up at him, and calmed down. He wasn't judging her, wasn't running away because she was maimed. She let out a sigh.

He gently and attentively finished wrapping her hand, and finally kissed it like a father kisses a child's boo-boo. It was incredibly sweet.

"All better?" said Luke, with a genuinely happy smile on his face.

They were sitting very close together now. In silence, Rue pulled him closer, and kissed him softly.

He could feel her smiling lips brush his like torturous feathers; lingering close he felt her whisper: "All better."

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 _I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for your comments and follows..it means a lot to me. This has been very fun to write, and I hope that if you like my story that you will share it with your fellow Star Wars pals. Thanks! :) May the Force be with you! hehe_


	6. Who you callin' dainty?

**Chapter 6: Who you callin' dainty?**

* * *

Rue was sleeping soundly now as Luke quietly closed the curtains over the transparisteel windows of the med bay. Because her hand had not healed quite as well as expected, the droids had given her another round of bacta and something _much_ stronger that was supposed to speed up the healing process, but was in limited supply on base.

The lights auto-dimmed as Luke slipped out of the now-quiet med bay. He was glad that Rue was now comfortable – well, as comfortable as she could be.

It was unfortunate that she had to spend yet another night in the medical unit rather than her own quarters, though it was for the best, he knew. Despite getting his hopes up, he wasn't so sure she would (or _should_ ) be attending the ceremony tomorrow.

Luke let out a huge sigh as he began walking down the dark corridor of the Yavin base toward the hangar bay. There was still a lot to process, and he'd barely had time to do so.

What had happened earlier today had been utterly shocking – he had never felt such a strong surge from the Force before. Though he sensed that the Force had _guided_ him in taking the shot on the Death Star, he had not yet _felt_ it flow through him….as strongly as if a ghost had walked right through his body.

And Rue. She had felt it too, he knew.

Did he do that?

It was almost as though… _she_ had walked right through him.

….Had she?

Luke knew he had closed his eyes for a moment only to be overtaken by an overwhelming wave of emotion unlike any other he had felt in his short life. He could see things - her thoughts, feelings, her pain, as well as his own - as if they were images playing out in full before his eyes. It was as if she had been right next to him, though they were well-across the room from each other, he sitting in meditative silence.

It had been utterly draining. It was no wonder Rue had been so depleted.

Luke sighed again.

He had to stop hurting the people he lov-. He stopped himself.

 _Liked._

He only _liked_ her.

He couldn't get caught up in something that would only cause more pain and hardship to a woman that was already suffering a great deal more than she had let on to him - though the mechanism of her suffering was still unclear to him, he realized sadly.

He barely even knew her, and after this afternoon, he was acutely aware of it.

Still, she had kissed him, and he had not entirely expected it. Dreamt it, yes, but never expected it to actually happen.

No – what he had expected was rejection, as it had _always_ happened time and again.

He had _expected_ to be laughed at, _expected_ to be humiliated – he could not expect _any_ woman to return his affections, no matter how badly he ached for it.

He knew he was just an annoying farmboy. 'Wormie' they had called him.

They wouldn't be calling him that once he became a powerful Jedi, he laughed to himself, thinking of his old fake "friends" on Tatooine.

Though it had only been a few days, Luke could already feel a distinct change within as he began to gradually tune into the vibrations of the Force; he lately felt like talking less and listening more, complaining less and learning more from all that surrounded him…and for the first time, not apologizing for his own thoughts and desires…

Yet, even with his new confidence he would never _expect_ anything from a woman, within or without a relationship. In his mind, it was what _she allowed_ to happen that was far more precious to him than any wild late-night scenario his overly- frazzled mind might dream up.

Though he had wanted their kiss to happen, Luke had not dared to hope too ardently that it would…ever.

It was not the first time he'd been kissed, but it was the first time it had not felt juvenile or sloppy, not wrought with nervous inexperience and drowned in too much Corellian ale and covered in the grit of the Tosche Station basement.

Yet, there was none of that to get in the way this time. It lingered fresh on his lips, like the first time he saw the bountiful green of Yavin - but he couldn't help wondering if it was authentic; it was almost to good to be real.

Maybe it was the meds, the trauma, or the stress of their current situation. – Yes, that had to be it, he convinced himself - no one ever wanted moofy 'Wormie'.

Luke shook his head, snapping out of his irrational thoughts. Things were different now - he was going to become a Jedi, or at least an officer with the Rebellion. He was no longer that annoying kid from Tatooine.

He decided that he was thinking far too hard about all of this.

As Luke he walked toward the hangar, he made up his mind that he would leave up to Rue what she would or would not share with him – including her time and feelings – he'd not force it, what would be would be.

It was best not to get in the way of a woman's will – that much he had learned from his short time around Leia. He would be supportive, but would ultimately let her go her own way, trying not to be upset when she discovered that he was really not the great hero that everyone thought him to be.

Though he was exhausted, it wasn't nearly as late as he'd thought, and the base was still quietly alive with activity and preparations. The _Falcon_ was parked right where Han had left it the day before, and it looked like a few minor repairs were in progress. Skywalker decided to go say hello, and offer some assistance if necessary. He _did_ get Han into this mess in the first place, afterall.

000000

Though he wasn't so sure that he trusted the slimy smuggler, Han had proven to be a far better guy than Luke had originally thought. Despite abandoning the Alliance after receiving an obscene amount of the only thing that he truly cared for other than the _Falcon_ – credits, and loads of them - Han had unexpectedly returned to help Leia's cause.

And, not only had Han left, he had bolted just after successfully negotiated for _seventy-six times more_ than Luke had been rewarded - a figure that had more than slightly nauseated him. At the end of the day, that was fine with Luke, he never really cared about credits anyway. Defeating the Empire and saving a friend in need was worth infinitely more to him than money, and he hoped that his true feelings came across via his recent agreement to stay on with the Alliance for the foreseeable future.

Perhaps Han felt the same way, deep down. If he did, he sure as hell hid it well.

As he walked toward the _Falcon_ , Luke felt conflicted about asking Han a really big favor. Though he was the "hero", Luke _owed Han_ a huge favor for blasting the remaining TIE fighters away from his lone X-wing fighter during the trench run..so he felt a bit odd asking for yet another favor. He couldn't have done it without him, and for that he was grateful. Despite that, Luke could not easily forget Han's wishy-washiness over Leia's rescue, and his and his quick abandonment of their party once he received his payment, not to mention Han's obvious annoyance anytime Luke opened his mouth.

Luke instead chose to be the better man, temporarily ignoring the major chip on his shoulder as he boarded the ship that had saved him twice.

Han was - as fate would have it - his only real friend beside Leia, Wedge, and now Rue. He supposed that Han's apparent greed might backfire in its own way – Luke was, afterall, the "good guy", wasn't he? Though he was starting to sense more and more that Leia had feelings for Han and not himself, wasn't the princess _supposed_ to end up with the nice guy over some lousy pirate in the end? The noble knight always got the girl in all the stories he'd been told as a kid...

"Nah, that's just kid stuff", he told himself. He was all grown up now, and he wasn't some knight, he was a homeless farmer that had miraculously ended up becoming the hero of the Rebellion at the moment. Still, fairy tales and real life don't mix, and pretty soon, he was sure that nobody would remember him. Though Leia was a princess, she behaved more like a General. She wasn't interested in fairy tales. She demanded justice and progress, not rescuing. Luke knew that she'd have gladly died in Imperial custody, and while Leia was eternally grateful for Luke and Han, she would have likely attempted to escape on her own, and would have likely rescued herself. She definitely had no reason to fall in love with her rescuer, as much as Luke initially fantasied about it.

This was the real world, things never worked out the way they were "supposed to".

As Luke approached the ship, Chewie roared hello to him and said something he couldn't understand at all, though it sounded friendly enough. It seemed that only Han could really understand the Wookiee, but Luke was pretty good at reading his gestures.

"I'm glad that you came back with Han, we couldn't have done this without you guys…say, where is that old man, anyway?" asked Luke, jestingly.

Chewie motioned to the ramp that had already been lowered, and Luke waved goodbye to the Wookie as he boarded. He tried to knock the best he could, but there really wasn't any good way to announce his presence.

"Han ol' buddy! You in here? It's Luke!"

"Hey kid, I'm in back, could ya gimme a hand in here?" said Han, his voice muffled in the other room.

Following Han's voice, Luke walked through the familiar alleyways of the _Falcon_ , the ship he had thought he'd never see again after saying their goodbyes just the other day. Though it had been a short ride in a (somewhat) fast machine, Luke never thought he'd actually _miss_ this bucket of bolts…but he had, just a little.

The ship smelled old and musty, like stale nostalgia, the way only an old freighter that regularly outran certain-death could. Though it was far from luxurious, it was comforting in its own quirky way, thought Luke as he walked towards the sickbay of the _Falcon_ where he found Han on hands and knees.

...Only Han wasn't sick at all….though Luke thought _he_ was now going to be; Han was in the middle of cleaning up _waaay_ more blood than Luke had ever seen in one place before.

"What _happened?!_ ", exclaimed a horrified Luke, as he quickly got down to help Han.

"Kid, relax! Remember, I rescued your _girlfriend_ from Tatooine?" he said with a wink.

"Well…it was bad, _real bad_ ," said Han, seriously, as he gestured to the faint blood stripes that had dripped along the entire pathway Luke had traversed to where he was now standing.

Luke didn't know what to say. He had an idea of what had happened, but he clearly hadn't imagine just _how_ bad it was. _Poor Rue_ , he thought, wondering if he should go back to the main sickbay.

"The quicker we clean up this mess, the quicker we can relax – I don't know about you, but I could _really_ use a drink after all this excitement…" said Han, as he threw another rag onto the growing pile.

Luke surveyed the room. He felt sick when he saw Rue's torn and bloodied uniform at the bottom of the rag pile. He picked it out and set it aside, vowing silently to clean it up for her, as much of a state of disrepair as it was in. Han, watching Luke pull the uniform out from the pile, felt sorry for him, and now doubly sorry for the young girl, who'd been more than lucky to survive the ordeal. Leia could have easily been in the same situation as she.

Luke noticed that the blood was the worst near the bunk, but it was still all over the grated floor, which looked as if it hadn't _really_ been cleaned in decades.

Luke could sense Han's growing frustration over the whole situation as he got back to scrubbing.

"Cleaning this floor gives new meaning to 'crossing the seven Corellian Hells', kid, I tell ya what. And here I am, just trying to get paid, and take care of business…but no, _noo_ , something _always_ has to come up…" Han continued, as he scrubbed at the grating.

Luke thought he could use a real crew.

"Say…" said Han as he stopped working long enough to shoot a scheming glance at Luke who was now keeling next to him. "…Your old wizard still owes me _big time_ for getting us into this whole mess, _why_ don't you work off your debt and get down here and get your pretty little hands dirty, kid? Whaddya say?"

Luke felt really bad. He _was_ right after all. He knew Han wouldn't ask him for any of his reward, especially that he had been given so much more than Luke, but nevertheless, the smuggler was right.

"I hear ya, Han. Just show me what to do so I don't mess it up worse for you..."

Han smirked. "Gods, kid! I am only kriffing ya, when are you going to lighten up! Grab a dentabrush, there are a few old ones in the 'fresher over there...", he gestured around the corner.

Luke laughed a little to humor Han, but truthfully, Luke was not too happy to be spending the rest of his evening off scrubbing the floors of the _Falcon_. But, he _did_ owe Han for coming back, so this was the least he could do, especially since it was almost done..at least the floor anyway.

Though he didn't let it on to Han, Luke couldn't help but sense the nauseating Force-signature of the room, a remnant of the overwhelming trauma and anguish that had occurred here so recently to the woman he was now growing close with…and perhaps even had connected with through the Force, as impossible a notion as that was to him. Obi-wan mentioned something like this to him once before, but he couldn't be sure that it was the same thing. Maybe the blood was getting to him.

One thing was for sure though, somehow Han already knew about he and Rue so he was _sure_ to get an ear-full about it tonight…Luke felt it was best to just roll with it, even if he wasn't so sure he liked the smuggler enough to get all _personal_ with him…though he _was_ beginning to grow on him.

"Say Han, who are you callin' ' _dainty'_ anyway!?" called Luke, already feeling a lightening of the dreary atmosphere of the ancient freighter as they set to scrubbing the decks...


	7. Bloodstripes

**Chapter 7: Bloodstripes**

* * *

A pile of bloodstained rags and over half a bottle of Corellian whiskey ( _the strong stuff_ ) later, Han and Luke found themselves sitting on the floor, under the holotable of the dimly lit _Falcon_ saloon.

The duo heard methodical footsteps coming up the ramp, and they both looked at each other, trying not to laugh. They both were quite tipped from the ale, and they were afraid – or rather, Han was afraid - that Leia would find them like this - drunk as two Hutts on a sailbarge.

Han held his finger up to his lips, signaling Luke to shut his loud mouth, but the other could not hold back a huge grin when Threepio came into view, toddling through the dark room unaware of their drunken presence under the table.

Both men started laughing silently, understanding that they had just been presented with a _golden_ opportunity.

This was just _too good_.

"Ol' Goldenrod has this wrong idea about me, kid, that I'm some kinda…soundrel or somethin'. …Keeps on comin in here to 'check on me'" slurred Han with his lopsided grin as he tilted his head back on the seat cushion behind him. "I think he wantsta catch me doin' somethin'…bad" – whispered Han, rather loudly as he winked at Luke - "so that he can prove to Leia that I'm not worth her time… that his circuits are still working properly or somethin'"…

"Kriff, I'm not sure _my_ circuits are working properly after…how many did we just have?" said Luke as he held up their shared bottle, now beginning to laugh again.

Luke wasn't sure Han was good for Leia either, if he were being completely honest with himself, but he sure couldn't say no to an innocent prank at Threepio's expense, and he wasn't sure he wanted to have any more ale - or whatever they were drinking - otherwise he _would_ be completely honest with Han, and he wasn't sure he wanted to be at the moment. It had already been quite a day.

Just then, they heard Threepio walking back into the saloon after surveying the entire ship, and both grew really quiet again. As the droid walked up to the holotable, Luke decided to grab Han's hand – saying loudly, "Ooh, Captain Solo, your hands are SO SOFT!" – as Threepio quickly bent over to look both of them in the eye – caught red-handed!

Luke was already rolling on the floor laughing, the whiskey having now fully soaked into his Force-frazzled brain.

"Alright, _youngling_ , that's enough for you!" said Han sarcastically as he grabbed the bottle and pulled his hand away from Skywalker, who was turning out to be quite the impressive prankster, Han thought, shaking his head (but silently approving Luke's hilarious bad behavior).

This, however, was _not_ what he meant by pranking Threepio.

"Captain Solo! My _goodness_ this is really quite enough from you! My circuits are overloading! Just what is Mistress Leia going to say when she hears about this!" -

"She ain't gonna hear about _nothin'_ , Professor!", interrupted Han, loudly, now pursing his lips as he looked over at Luke, shaking his head at the Tatooineiian who clearly could not handle his whiskey.

" _Really_ , Master Luke, this behavior is quite unbecoming of you, why just this week I thought, 'my goodness this young man is quite the noble gentleman', and now here he is, holding hands with this space pirate! Artoo is such a terrible influence, why, when he is fixed – _oh I do hope he will be the same_ – I am going to _deactivate_ him for this! Oh dear oh dear-"

"It's ok Threepio!" said the still-laughing Luke – "We were just joking around with you…Han's hands are _rough_ , they're not soft at all!" Luke stuck his tongue out at Han as he slowly got up off the floor to help the frazzled Threepio sit down at the holotable.

Han decided the joke was too good to let die now: "Why, _Master Skywalker_ , it's you that has the deliciously soft hands from all that sand….", said Han with his trademark wink, raising his eyebrows a few times at Luke, and now clearly enjoying this joke a little too much for Luke.

Han would _NEVER_ let Luke live this one down.

This was far too much for poor Threepio to handle though, as usual.

"Oh Master Luke, really, this is far too much for my circuits! It's not _my fault_ I was programmed for etiquette! Sometimes I just can't understand human behavior!", rambled Threepio, as Luke struggled to plug him into the charging panel near the holodeck.

"I think someone's _over-tired_ ", said a red-eyed Luke over his shoulder to Han, who was more than amused watching Luke pretend to be sober.

Still sprawled under the table, Han tugged on Luke's filthy pant leg -"Here kid, I think he needs this more than we do – but _none for you,_ son", and handed him the near-empty bottle, while rolling his eyes.

The "kid" _was_ pretty damn tipped at this point, but Han was for all intents and purposes just getting started. He could really hold his liquor, and after years in space, he realized that maybe he had better cut back…just a bit. Afterall, the Corellian wanted to save the really good stuff for tomorrow when they'd _really_ get down to celebrating. And anyway, he didn't want to let himself go and say something stupid, though why he suddenly cared about that, he wasn't quite sure. He didn't want to think about it. Suddenly there had been much more to think about during these past few days.

As Han looked again at Luke standing next to the table, still fiddling with Threepio's corroded power coupling, he imagined how terrible it would be for the kid to wear these old clothes to the ceremony tomorrow. He really looked a-mess, no small thanks to the filth he'd just made Luke clean up with him.

Maybe it was the ale - maybe not - but either way, Han now felt bad.

He _had_ been pretty hard on the kid these past few days. Luke wasn't exactly his _idea_ of good company – he sure didn't know when to shut up sometimes - but still…he was a good guy, and Han was beginning to warm up to him a little bit – a notion that shocked him, thinking back to their first meeting in Mos Eisley.

Still, Luke was nothing like the spineless drivel he was used to back at the cantina on Tatooine; as painful as it was to be around Skywalker - as uncool as he was - Han decided that he would start being a better friend to the younger man. Kriff, maybe Luke could learn to be cool, even.

He'd never admit it to anyone, but Han really needed a friend too – a _human_ friend that he could trust, as much as he loved Chewie like a brother and always would.

Years of dealing with smuggler-types and the related scum that came along for the ride with his profession had hardened him a bit, made him a little more firey-tongued than he sometimes meant to be; he didn't realize it until recently just _how_ much his comments could get him in trouble.

It was painfully obvious that Luke was hurt by his rejections and snarky comments; afterall, the kid hadn't really asked for any of this – the loss, the heroics, the improvised death-wish missions. The one thing he _did_ want was a friend, and Han decided that _that much_ he could give the guy after being a jerk to him.

He could _try_ , at least.

He studied Luke's farm rags again. He really _could_ have just summoned the cleaning crew to come on board and disinfect the whole ship at the drop of a hat.

 _Could have_ \- but didn't _want to_.

Han was of the mindset that the Captain cared for his own ship and his own mess; leaving it up to a cleaning crew was not his idea of leadership, it wasn't their responsibility. Why should they break their backs for him when it was his idea to turn around and help? Still, he hadn't had much of a choice in the matter when it came to the girl's _rescue_ …

 _That was all_ _her Worshipfullness' idea_ , he thought to himself.

He was none-too-pleased about being ordered around by her.

 _No one_ gave him orders. _He_ made sure the _Falcon_ was running properly. _He_ had the final say in the running of his ship, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

The truth was that Han didn't like the idea of _anyone_ else looking after him, for any reason...especially princesses.

He was his own man - had always been, and always would be. Solo until the end.

Who was she to be bossing him around like this? And why the hell was he _letting_ her!?

Han let out an audible groan that lasted for more than a few seconds as he rested his head back on the old seat-cushion of the holo-lounger. It was not very cushy after years of sabacc and holochess.

Maybe this was not the best time to be stubborn about it.

He was glad that they had saved the Imperial woman. At least to one farmboy, she seemed to have been worth the risk of the rescue (which had been considerable); Beggar's canyon wasn't the friendliest place to land an old freighter, and he sure as hell was no medic.

As he had earlier explained to Luke, he wasn't prepared to cut her out of the wreckage, and was even less prepared to stop the bleeding that occurred when he managed to extract her. Had he known better, he'd have cut her out without disturbing the impaled pieces of hull around her, leaving their proper removal to the base medics. Had Chewie not been there, she'd have died. That much he knew.

There was no way to change what happened now, he was just glad that she was alive and in one piece…and that her imminent death as a result of his unpreparedness was thankfully _not_ on his head.

Han had seen Luke walking the base with her earlier today. It made him happy to see the kid smile a little bit. The slight pang of jealousy at seeing the kid with her surprised him. He had rescued her, not Luke. Nobody was entitled to anything…well, except his reward. And that was better than any woman, he told himself.

Despite Luke's happiness, the woman _was_ an Imperial, and likely was not someone to be trusted. Then he remembered that he too had been an Imperial, years and years ago. The Academy. Ugh.

Then he laughed, remembering Luke arguing with him about which of them would end up with the princess. He had been joking when he had asked Luke, 'Whaddya think, a princess and a guy like me?' – because it was so painfully obvious that she wanted nothing to do with him - but he could see the hurt in Luke's eyes – he liked her. _That much_ was plain.

Well, he could have her too, he decided. She was too damn hot-headed. He already had enough to deal with. The kid could stand a little healthy pushing around, he thought to himself with a smirk. Maybe _that_ would shut him up finally.

The smuggler snapped out of it when a voice startled him out of his wandering thoughts:

"Well, it looks like Threepio could stand to be serviced – he's been through a lot, and I think he really _has_ fried some of his circuits…though I think it's more from worrying for Artoo than wondering about our…shenanigans", said a now-more-sober Luke with a gruff laugh that was somewhat unlike the farmboy Han thought he knew.

"I think I'm going to go see if they can do an overnight soak-and-polish on him. I feel a little bad for riling him up like that", added Luke as he was beginning to gather up Threepio to leave.

"Good idea, kid. Hey speaking of getting all riled up, are you planning on wearing _that_ tomorrow? Looks like you could use a soak-and-polish yourself!" said Han looking him over in an exaggerated manner. "You know the ladies aren't going to stand for you looking like a greasy monkey-lizard…"

Luke's eyes got big as he realized Han was right. After seeing all the hustle and bustle around base, and hearing a few whispers in the base hallways, apparently this was going to be a _huge_ ceremony tomorrow…nothing like he had expected.

"Well, I was actually going to wear my flightsuit…you know, with the remaining Rogues…" said Luke as the captain cut him off.

"-Nah, Luke, you – _we_ – are getting the highest honor bestowed by the Rebellion tomorrow… _apparently_ we have to look spiffy… and on short notice. I know, unfair.", said Han with trademark snark.

Luke looked down at Han as he slumped back onto the lounger next to a low-powered Threepio. "Oh I don't know about all this, I thought it was just going to be a reception, maybe some extra mess rations, a little music…I dunno-"

Han cut him off as he got up off the floor, and pulled the younger man back to his feet. "Luke, I know you would never ask, but I _know_ you've got nothing, and credits are good for nothing out here right now. I understand…I've been there too, but now, here we are with this, uh, _shindig_ tomorrow…"

Moving toward the captains' quarters, Han walked out with a pile of clothes and plopped them onto the holotable in front of a bleary-eyed Luke. Chewie had just walked in after finishing the repairs, and chortled inquisitively at the filthy looking duo.

Luke looked at Chewie, and back at Han, surprised by his unexpected act of friendship.

"Well, I'll make it easy for ya kid. I've got chaps in two colors, Imperial Blue, and brown, both with Corellian Blood stripes. I don't really fit into _these_ anymore," he said gesturing to the brown and yellow ones, "…so you can take these until you can get yourself some real _nice_ duds. They're too short for me anyway," he said with a sly smirk that only Chewie could see.

Chewie guffawed at him. Luke really wished he could understand what the wookiee was saying...probably calling him short for the millionth time. It seemed to be the running inside joke between the two.

"Thanks Han. You'll never believe this, but I've never been garment shopping in my entire life, I couldn't even guess my size if I wanted to", Luke said with a laugh. "Do you mind if I try these on?" he asked, gesturing to the cabin around the corner.

"Wait, take these boots and my spare holster too," added Han, still rummaging through the cluttered storage bay. "They might not fit great, but at least we'll look all matchy- _matchy_ -like," said Han sarcastically as Luke laughed and staggered with comedically-unsure footing toward the empty compartment to change.

Skywalker closed the door and looked at himself in the mirror as he removed the blood-stained clothes. He figured it would be best to burn them, as who knew what else had been on the floor of the med cabin. Han was right, he was better off dressing the part of a hero, though he still didn't feel as though he deserved it.

Luke felt plain old wrong wearing Corellian blood-stripes, as Han had _earned_ the garments' characteristic stripes in years past for being a brave war hero ...something Luke now was as well - but nonetheless, he was not a _Corellian_ , nor had he earned these particular stripes that were so prized by Han's people. Alas, it was the best he could do right now, and Han didn't seem to mind.

The stripes were but one more reminder that Han had every advantage over him: he was older, braver, better looking, more confident, owned his own shit, was _taller_ (which he never let him forget, Force knows!), and of course, smoother.

As he changed, Luke sheepishly grinned as he recalled the time that he had feigned blindness to the various female garments falling out of the compartments in the very same chamber he was now changing in on the _Falcon,_ and wondered if they were still in here...

They had been rummaging around for something suitable for Leia to change into after the garbage chute debacle, and Han had caught him laughing at Han's secret stash from lovers-past. Luke knew Leia had not seen, and Han had given him the Eye-of-Palpatine not to tell on him. Perhaps he wished he had back then, so she might see what kind of a guy she was REALLY dealing with.

But, now that Han had returned, maybe he wasn't such a bad guy afterall. Still, he couldn't help but thinking that maybe then _he'd_ have had a glimmer of a chance with Leia, for once. Oh Force, maybe he was just a little bit jealous of the smuggler, always seeming to know just what to do. He had Rue in his life now, and he wouldn't trade that for anything, even if it was just for a short time.

 _Oh, who am I kidding,_ Luke thought, shaking the ale-soaked thoughts from his mind. He'd leave the sweet-nothings where they lay, saving the joke for another time, checking himself in the mirror one last time.

"We now proudly present...new and improved, now with better pants!" he announced as he emerged from the cabin wearing Han's pants, boots, and holster.

Luke swaggered back to the saloon area of the ship where Han and Chewie were waiting to accost his new look. With a huge toothy grin, Luke put on his best Han impression, pretending to pull an imaginary blaster from the holster slung low around his right hip, saying, "Hokey religions an' ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at yer side kid!".

Han swatted his hand dismissively at Luke. "Well kid, they're a little snug but that never killed anybody," said Han with an over-emphasized wink, "nobody's gonna notice with _me_ standing up there with you, and you sure do look pretty pleased with yourself. Now go put a shirt on already, ain't nobody here that wants to see that!"

"Alright alright, your Highness I'm goin' I'm goin'!," answered Luke, who was still impersonating Han, much to Chewie's delight. But then Luke sobered a moment as he turned back toward the saloon: "What about you, Han, what've you got to wear?"

"Kid, I'm just wearing what I wear - it's just another day, I ain't out to impress nobody. There's only one lady in the whole kriffin' galaxy anyway, and I already know what she thinks a' me..."

Luke paused and shot Han a knowing look as he began joshing him. "Oh I know, some of that lacy stuff from your room? The princess will love that! Oh, _Yesss Captain_!", and he did a mock-striptease right there in the _Falcon_ just to make him aggravated.

Han interrupted his dance: "- Kid, I told you NOBODY needs to know about that!... _especially_ Her Worshipfullness. I'm trying to turn over a new leaf, maybe… I don't know, start dressing real _spiffy_ -like, polish my blaster..."

Just then, the only voice that could make the two men nervous called suddenly from around the corner…they'd been caught.


	8. Your Worshipfullness

**Chapter 8: Your Worshipfullness**

* * *

"What are you two _moon jockeys_ up to now?" asked Leia, who had been hiding around the corner the entire time since before their prank on Threepio.

"Oh my GODS what have you two been doing in here!", she said as she saw how completely filthy Han still was…and how filthy drunk they both were...or rather, Luke still was.

"Han! You didn't get a biohazard crew in here!? You did this _yourself_!?", exclaimed the Princess, her face fixed in what seemed to be a permanent scowl.

 _Why was it always directed at him?,_ Han wondered to himself for what seemed the hundredth time this week.

"AND, you made Luke do this too?!"

She looked over at Luke, who was now red in the face and still wearing Han's pants, the holster coming undone.

He was both embarrassed to be caught shirtless by the princess, but equally pleased with himself, knowing he looked _good_ for a change. Who cares if she didn't like his goofy dance...there was more where that came from, he laughed inwardly.

Leia shook her head at him, but pursed her lips, covering a smile.

Luke turned and held up Threepio's arm to wave hello at her too. Leia had to laugh at him, looking so out-of-character in Han's too-tight pants, holding Threepio's arm up, now in a mock-salute to her.

"Oh my God, you two," said Leia, now calming down a bit. Chewie chortled in agreement, and Han shot him a _look_.

"Relax, Your Worshipfullness, you'll be pleased to know that I'm helping our dear Luke here find some worthy attire for your fancy… _soiree_ tomorrow," said Han, crossing his arms and smiling at her as he put his legs up on the holo-table.

It seemed to be his trademark, Leia noticed.

"The Alliance thanks you, Captain", said Leia, icily as she followed Luke back toward the changing compartment, where she picked up his bloodied clothes with two fingers.

Han slowly put his hands behind his head and sent Chewie a quizzical look as he leaned back into the holo-booth; the wookiee shrugged back at him: If Threepio couldn't understand human behavior, Han sure as hell couldn't understand women...at least not _this_ one.

Leia came back to the holotable and gestured to Han's own filthy attire. "So what are your plans with this _mess_ you've got going on?"

"Well, if Your Majesty must know, I _was_ going to wear this tomorrow. I did just give Luke my extra clothes…"

"- You have _one_ extra set? Are you kidding me?"

"Darlin', I don't kid."

Leia groaned and looked at Luke, and then back at Han. "Well, you better give them to me…I can get them in right now for cleaning just barely in time for tomorrow. I do wish you'd have taken care of this earlier, Han! Who knows if these stains will come out now."

Han looked at Luke. "Kid, looks like you've managed to get her all riled up again..why don't you carry on with that honky _mating-dance_ you were doin'", said Han as he got up to head toward the changing compartment. "She could use it."

Luke was still bright red, and leaning on the portal frame next to the lounge - half holding himself up after a few too many drinks, half attempting to retain a little bit of his mock swagger from earlier -when Han whispered to him as he passed out of view:

"She just wants to know what I'm smugglin'…in these trousers!", joked Han with a ridiculous wink at Luke who now crossed his arms in total embarrassment at Han's gall. It _was_ hilarious though, he had to admit. A huge grin had now involuntarily plastered itself across his tan face. Han knew Luke wouldn't be able to handle the comment, and he knew it would infuriate Leia.

"What did he just say?!" interrogated Leia, loudly enough for Han to hear her. "Consider yourself reported, Han!"

Luke didn't know quite what to say to redeem Han in that moment without making things worse, so he said "Oh, nothing Leia – you know _him_..." and decided to change the subject.

"Here give me those, it's not your job to clean up after me…us…He didn't want the cleaning crew to bother with the _Falcon_ so I offered to help…and I don't want _you_ to bother with _this_. I'll take care of it," finished Luke, as he took his garments from her...and threw them in the _Falcon's_ garbage chute.

"There, right where they belong."

Leia laughed at him – _he was rarely this funny,_ she thought - as Han called from the other room.

"Alright, your Highness, I'm jumping in the fresher, you can take these clothes or leave them, either way, I'm not sure what you want to do with me in the meantime…"

"I'm not going to encourage him," said Leia to Luke, as she grabbed up the pile that had just been hastily thrown in the hallway.

"Leia, I'm going to take Threepio over to droid maintenance, I think he could use an overnight soak after, er, what he's been through recently…I'll take care of that too," Luke added, taking the laundry from her.

"Or...you know, I _could_ just throw them in the garbage chute…" joked Luke, with a playful half smile, and a gesture to the bin. "…then you'd have some real trouble on your hands! Hey, at least they'd be firmly _pressed…_ "

Leia punched him in the arm. She was now red in the face, and pretty sure that Luke knew that she liked Han more than she let on.

Ever since _that_ garbage chute incident – Han _had_ tried his best to ensure her safety over his own in that situation – and well, she didn't hate him quite so much now that he'd come back. _Had he come for her?_

Luke gestured to the droid, and they both groaned as Threepio began his rebooting process. He was far too heavy to carry over to the droid bay, and thus, they had to suffer whatever info-dump was waiting to explode when he was fully rebooted. In his presently over-frazzled state, you never knew just what he'd say, or if he'd feign malfunction and not want to walk…

As his golden eyes blinked on, Threepio began his verbal tirade. "Ooh Mistress Leia, it is so good to see you again! Master Luke, what are you doing in Captain Solo's clothing, my goodness, with all that I have seen from you two I am not sure that I want to know! Oh dear oh dear. Artoo! ARTOO! Where is he? Will he be repaired soon! Goodness! Perhaps I need a memory wipe—"

"It's ok Threepio, everything is fine, we were just joking with you!", said Luke. Leia looked at him, laughing to herself - Luke had no idea that she had heard their little charade in its entirety (she was going to save that knowledge for a later date). She then looked at Luke's hands…they _did_ look soft – were Han's really rough? Was that a bad thing?—Luke jolted her out of her wandering thoughts as he continued to calm Threepio down—

"What do you say to a nice oil bath and buffing, eh? I'll bet Artoo will be almost finished by now, maybe we can go see him together, whaddya say, buddy?, asked Luke, gently, though still obviously slightly intoxicated.

Leia thought Luke was especially good with the droids. Han could be so cruel to Threepio at times, and though he _was_ exceedingly annoying, ill treatment at the droid's expense was often unnecessary. Often hilarious, but _still_ , he didn't deserve to be upset all the time.

As he continued fussing with Threepio, Leia surveyed Luke, minus the farm clothes. She had to admit, he _was_ looking especially good in this new getup, though she knew that he was quite taken with their new guest. She didn't want to ruin it for him by getting in the way… Maybe she just had a thing for the Bloodstripes he was now wearing, thanks to that _scoundrel_ …

"Ooh Master Luke, that sounds wonderful, just wonderful! If I could just get up we could get going right now, if of course you don't mind that is-"

Luke cut off the droid, "No, not at all, we can go right now. They are expecting you in fact - I've even made a special late-night _reservation_ for you." Luke looked at Leia and rolled his eyes as Threepio sped down the ramp and toward the droid center with Chewie in tow.

"What is this now, a _droid spa_? I didn't know there was such a thing…can I go get a hot oil bath too?" joked Leia, impressed with Luke's persuasiveness at getting the finicky droid speeding off toward the repair unit - a place that Threepio normally would have avoided at all costs. He was not a fan of being tinkered with and seemed to rather enjoy complaining about ceasing up rather than being properly maintained.

"Well, I just made it up..and anyway, it's better than carrying him, trust me, I _know_ ," said Luke as he ran an exaggerated hand through his hair, now acutely aware of the silence that had descended upon the _Falcon's_ saloon upon Threepio's comedic exit.

Since Rue arrived, he wasn't sure _what_ he thought about Leia anymore. Not knowing what else to do, he gathered up Han's clothes and headed toward the ramp, noticing that Leia was not moving to follow him out, which surprised him. They had been practically glued at the hip since her rescue. Maybe he had let a bit _too_ loose tonight...

"Oh you go ahead Luke, you've had a long day. I'm going to stick around to give this _lazer-brained_ diva a piece of my mind when he gets out. Please, will you make sure they'll have Artoo ready by tomorrow, if you don't mind. Oh, and Chewie is going to spend the night in the trees outside the base – he says that he reminds him of home..."

"Alright, thanks for telling me – you get some rest too, Leia. I mean it!", he said, pointing at her with mock-seriousness.

"Thanks, I'll try, farmboy…see you tomorrow, oh, and Luke, thanks for helping Han…", Leia trailed off.

"Oh...No problem….well, goodnight…"

Luke slowly descended the ramp, half hoping that she might change her mind and come with him, leaving Han to stew in solitude about his personal infractions with Leia, and his ridiculous comments. Why he felt this way he didn't know – maybe it was the whiskey. Hopefully he hadn't totally moofed things up with her, as was the way of his short track record. At least he knew that Leia wasn't about to leave forever. Not that Rue _would_ …he just didn't know.

Speaking of Rue, Luke's thoughts quickly shifted back to her, soundly sleeping across from Threepio's destination… hopefully he hadn't woken up the entire base on his way there!

It wasn't until he was halfway across the paddock that Luke was surprised to hear the hydraulic ramp of the _Falcon_ close.

He smiled to himself as he understood why Leia wasn't walking back to the dorm-wing with him, and why she didn't fight him about getting Threepio out of there tonight…

I guess Han wasn't about to be reported afterall.


	9. Han Solo and The Princess

**Chapter 8: Your Worshipfullness**

* * *

"What are you two _moon jockeys_ up to now?" asked Leia, who had been hiding around the corner the entire time since before their prank on Threepio.

"Oh my GODS what have you two been doing in here!", she said as she saw how completely filthy Han still was…and how filthy drunk they both were...or rather, Luke still was.

"Han! You didn't get a biohazard crew in here!? You did this _yourself_!?", exclaimed the Princess, her face fixed in what seemed to be a permanent scowl.

 _Why was it always directed at him?,_ Han wondered to himself for what seemed the hundredth time this week.

"AND, you made Luke do this too?!"

She looked over at Luke, who was now red in the face and still wearing Han's pants, the holster coming undone.

He was both embarrassed to be caught shirtless by the princess, but equally pleased with himself, knowing he looked _good_ for a change. Who cares if she didn't like his goofy dance...there was more where that came from, he laughed inwardly.

Leia shook her head at him, but pursed her lips, covering a smile.

Luke turned and held up Threepio's arm to wave hello at her too. Leia had to laugh at him, looking so out-of-character in Han's too-tight pants, holding Threepio's arm up, now in a mock-salute to her.

"Oh my God, you two," said Leia, now calming down a bit. Chewie chortled in agreement, and Han shot him a _look_.

"Relax, Your Worshipfullness, you'll be pleased to know that I'm helping our dear Luke here find some worthy attire for your fancy… _soiree_ tomorrow," said Han, crossing his arms and smiling at her as he put his legs up on the holo-table.

It seemed to be his trademark, Leia noticed.

"The Alliance thanks you, Captain", said Leia, icily as she followed Luke back toward the changing compartment, where she picked up his bloodied clothes with two fingers.

Han slowly put his hands behind his head and sent Chewie a quizzical look as he leaned back into the holo-booth; the wookiee shrugged back at him: If Threepio couldn't understand human behavior, Han sure as hell couldn't understand women...at least not _this_ one.

Leia came back to the holotable and gestured to Han's own filthy attire. "So what are your plans with this _mess_ you've got going on?"

"Well, if Your Majesty must know, I _was_ going to wear this tomorrow. I did just give Luke my extra clothes…"

"- You have _one_ extra set? Are you kidding me?"

"Darlin', I don't kid."

Leia groaned and looked at Luke, and then back at Han. "Well, you better give them to me…I can get them in right now for cleaning just barely in time for tomorrow. I do wish you'd have taken care of this earlier, Han! Who knows if these stains will come out now."

Han looked at Luke. "Kid, looks like you've managed to get her all riled up again..why don't you carry on with that honky _mating-dance_ you were doin'", said Han as he got up to head toward the changing compartment. "She could use it."

Luke was still bright red, and leaning on the portal frame next to the lounge - half holding himself up after a few too many drinks, half attempting to retain a little bit of his mock swagger from earlier -when Han whispered to him as he passed out of view:

"She just wants to know what I'm smugglin'…in these trousers!", joked Han with a ridiculous wink at Luke who now crossed his arms in total embarrassment at Han's gall. It _was_ hilarious though, he had to admit. A huge grin had now involuntarily plastered itself across his tan face. Han knew Luke wouldn't be able to handle the comment, and he knew it would infuriate Leia.

"What did he just say?!" interrogated Leia, loudly enough for Han to hear her. "Consider yourself reported, Han!"

Luke didn't know quite what to say to redeem Han in that moment without making things worse, so he said "Oh, nothing Leia – you know _him_..." and decided to change the subject.

"Here give me those, it's not your job to clean up after me…us…He didn't want the cleaning crew to bother with the _Falcon_ so I offered to help…and I don't want _you_ to bother with _this_. I'll take care of it," finished Luke, as he took his garments from her...and threw them in the _Falcon's_ garbage chute.

"There, right where they belong."

Leia laughed at him – _he was rarely this funny,_ she thought - as Han called from the other room.

"Alright, your Highness, I'm jumping in the fresher, you can take these clothes or leave them, either way, I'm not sure what you want to do with me in the meantime…"

"I'm not going to encourage him," said Leia to Luke, as she grabbed up the pile that had just been hastily thrown in the hallway.

"Leia, I'm going to take Threepio over to droid maintenance, I think he could use an overnight soak after, er, what he's been through recently…I'll take care of that too," Luke added, taking the laundry from her.

"Or...you know, I _could_ just throw them in the garbage chute…" joked Luke, with a playful half smile, and a gesture to the bin. "…then you'd have some real trouble on your hands! Hey, at least they'd be firmly _pressed…_ "

Leia punched him in the arm. She was now red in the face, and pretty sure that Luke knew that she liked Han more than she let on.

Ever since _that_ garbage chute incident – Han _had_ tried his best to ensure her safety over his own in that situation – and well, she didn't hate him quite so much now that he'd come back. _Had he come for her?_

Luke gestured to the droid, and they both groaned as Threepio began his rebooting process. He was far too heavy to carry over to the droid bay, and thus, they had to suffer whatever info-dump was waiting to explode when he was fully rebooted. In his presently over-frazzled state, you never knew just what he'd say, or if he'd feign malfunction and not want to walk…

As his golden eyes blinked on, Threepio began his verbal tirade. "Ooh Mistress Leia, it is so good to see you again! Master Luke, what are you doing in Captain Solo's clothing, my goodness, with all that I have seen from you two I am not sure that I want to know! Oh dear oh dear. Artoo! ARTOO! Where is he? Will he be repaired soon! Goodness! Perhaps I need a memory wipe—"

"It's ok Threepio, everything is fine, we were just joking with you!", said Luke. Leia looked at him, laughing to herself - Luke had no idea that she had heard their little charade in its entirety (she was going to save that knowledge for a later date). She then looked at Luke's hands…they _did_ look soft – were Han's really rough? Was that a bad thing?—Luke jolted her out of her wandering thoughts as he continued to calm Threepio down—

"What do you say to a nice oil bath and buffing, eh? I'll bet Artoo will be almost finished by now, maybe we can go see him together, whaddya say, buddy?, asked Luke, gently, though still obviously slightly intoxicated.

Leia thought Luke was especially good with the droids. Han could be so cruel to Threepio at times, and though he _was_ exceedingly annoying, ill treatment at the droid's expense was often unnecessary. Often hilarious, but _still_ , he didn't deserve to be upset all the time.

As he continued fussing with Threepio, Leia surveyed Luke, minus the farm clothes. She had to admit, he _was_ looking especially good in this new getup, though she knew that he was quite taken with their new guest. She didn't want to ruin it for him by getting in the way… Maybe she just had a thing for the Bloodstripes he was now wearing, thanks to that _scoundrel_ …

"Ooh Master Luke, that sounds wonderful, just wonderful! If I could just get up we could get going right now, if of course you don't mind that is-"

Luke cut off the droid, "No, not at all, we can go right now. They are expecting you in fact - I've even made a special late-night _reservation_ for you." Luke looked at Leia and rolled his eyes as Threepio sped down the ramp and toward the droid center with Chewie in tow.

"What is this now, a _droid spa_? I didn't know there was such a thing…can I go get a hot oil bath too?" joked Leia, impressed with Luke's persuasiveness at getting the finicky droid speeding off toward the repair unit - a place that Threepio normally would have avoided at all costs. He was not a fan of being tinkered with and seemed to rather enjoy complaining about ceasing up rather than being properly maintained.

"Well, I just made it up..and anyway, it's better than carrying him, trust me, I _know_ ," said Luke as he ran an exaggerated hand through his hair, now acutely aware of the silence that had descended upon the _Falcon's_ saloon upon Threepio's comedic exit.

Since Rue arrived, he wasn't sure _what_ he thought about Leia anymore. Not knowing what else to do, he gathered up Han's clothes and headed toward the ramp, noticing that Leia was not moving to follow him out, which surprised him. They had been practically glued at the hip since her rescue. Maybe he had let a bit _too_ loose tonight...

"Oh you go ahead Luke, you've had a long day. I'm going to stick around to give this _lazer-brained_ diva a piece of my mind when he gets out. Please, will you make sure they'll have Artoo ready by tomorrow, if you don't mind. Oh, and Chewie is going to spend the night in the trees outside the base – he says that he reminds him of home..."

"Alright, thanks for telling me – you get some rest too, Leia. I mean it!", he said, pointing at her with mock-seriousness.

"Thanks, I'll try, farmboy…see you tomorrow, oh, and Luke, thanks for helping Han…", Leia trailed off.

"Oh...No problem….well, goodnight…"

Luke slowly descended the ramp, half hoping that she might change her mind and come with him, leaving Han to stew in solitude about his personal infractions with Leia, and his ridiculous comments. Why he felt this way he didn't know – maybe it was the whiskey. Hopefully he hadn't totally moofed things up with her, as was the way of his short track record. At least he knew that Leia wasn't about to leave forever. Not that Rue _would_ …he just didn't know.

Speaking of Rue, Luke's thoughts quickly shifted back to her, soundly sleeping across from Threepio's destination… hopefully he hadn't woken up the entire base on his way there!

It wasn't until he was halfway across the paddock that Luke was surprised to hear the hydraulic ramp of the _Falcon_ close.

He smiled to himself as he understood why Leia wasn't walking back to the dorm-wing with him, and why she didn't fight him about getting Threepio out of there tonight…

I guess Han wasn't about to be reported afterall.

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Han Solo and The Princess**

* * *

As the ramp closed for the night, Leia poured herself the rest of the bottle that the boys had left unattended, and made her way to the cockpit, closing the transparisteel shields to block the light..and prying eyes.

She made herself comfortable in the co-piloit's spot, knowing that Han had a tendency to fall sleep in the pilot's chair; it was a quirky habit of his that she'd noticed during their short time together since her rescue.

Maybe he wanted to be ready for anything on short notice.

 _He's not going to be ready for this_ , she thought, caring not for what High Command might think of her for once…

Normally she'd never do something this bold – shutting herself in like this, letting her hair down like this… but since she had just lost everything - _yet he had returned, she hadn't lost him_ \- she felt like he was the one constant that hadn't vanished from her life, and she wasn't going to let him leave without knowing…well, knowing _what_ exactly she wasn't sure, but all she knew is that she didn't want to leave right now.

She had to admit, Luke was much better for her in every way, but she couldn't help the way Han made her feel, despite her feelings for Luke. Somehow they were very different from the way she felt about Han.

...and he was so completely wrong for her in every possible way, yet somehow _so right_.

And he looked like a _god_.

The thought of him knowing the way she felt about him was absolutely mortifying.

Hells, she didn't even _really_ know him. Yet, here she found herself waiting for him. - Never before had someone set her off in so many different directions at once – and even though they technically hated each other at the moment, she was here, sitting in his ship late at night, anticipating… anticipating…what exactly?

 _Oh noo, what am I doing?_

Leia got up, deciding this really was a _terrible_ idea after all.

She couldn't let him find her like this! He would just laugh at her, and _never_ let her forget about it.

What would Luke think of her, knowing that she _stayed_ with _him._

She quickly finished her drink, slamming it down a bit harder than she intended to – had it _already_ hit her? – as she turned in haste for the door.

 _This could not happen, not right now_ …thought Leia, just as she walked straight into the bare chest of Captain Solo, who was standing in the doorway still dripping wet from the 'fresher with a very sly grin on his face.

Leia froze inwardly, as she backed into the seat behind her, feigning cool collectivity.

"Well your Worship, to what do I owe the _pleasure_ …", he said, lingering on the final word, still smiling at her knowingly.

Her cool demeanor was not as icy as usual, but she tried to shut him down nonetheless.

"Nothing whatsoever. I was simply making sure I didn't leave without...briefing you on tomorrow's festivities…"

"Oh, that's a good story…" said Han, who had now slowly moved from the doorway to his usual spot in the pilot's chair. She felt like trapped prey.

Prey that perhaps wanted to be trapped.

He was wearing just an anhydracloth from the 'fresher around his waist; she could see his scars from past skirmishes, the old blaster burns, the lines of his body that traveled mercilessly downward into the wrap he was thankfully wearing…

She was beginning to think she deserved a kriffin' medal for not completely losing her cool with him right now…

Han laughed "…If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were _looking_ to start the _festivities_ a little early, Princess, if you know what I'm sayin'," he said, with a wink, catching her looking at places other than his face.

She was really losing her composure, and worst of all, he could tell.

He sat back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, trying to take the pressure off; he didn't want to make her uncomfortable – not in _that_ way.

This was bad.

Well, _bad in the best possible way_ , she thought to herself inwardly.

"Don't be ridiculous, Han. I just wanted you to know...that you should report at 0-1700 hours tomorrow. I'll have your garments returned by morning…" she looked away from him, now acutely aware that he didn't have any other clothes on board, thanks to her…and now she had locked herself in here with him.

She kept talking to keep the stifling silence from descending upon them. "And…"

"… _and…",_ Han repeated.

"And…I'm sorry that I came in here and lectured you about the _Falcon_ – she's your business, not mine…", muttered a flustered Leia, now looking at the worn floor of the bridge.

"-Hey sister, that's no big deal – and yes I do have other clothes, I just wanted to get you all… _excited_ ", he laughed, raising his eyebrows at her, "…looks like it worked too..."

And with that, she swatted him across the arm, but laughed when she completely missed him.

"Oh come on, _that's_ the best you've got for me, _Princess_?" Han egged her on, thankful that they were not arguing for a change. "Luke can hit me harder than that, and don't tell me he's got you beat!"

He quickly got up and ran out into the saloon where they had been lounging earlier before she even had a chance to swat at him again. Leia followed him out, laughing about how she was going to get him back "real good" for that…and tripped on the bulkhead, falling right into his strong arms that were quick to catch her.

 _Oh brother_ , thought Leia. _Now she'd gone and done it_.

They just stood there for an awkward moment, looking at each other, unsure what to do. The only sound was the hum of the _Falcon_ and the sound of their unsure breathing.

Somehow it felt that everything was leading up this moment...something neither of them expected to happen...but both secretly had wanted.

Han would've liked to have had the gift of foresight enough to have planned that move - to stand in _just_ the right place to have her fall into him, but he hadn't. He was smooth, but not _that_ smooth. _He wasn't Lando afterall_ , he thought. Yet, he was glad that it had happened, almost as if it _should have_.

It was funny how lately it seemed that circumstances kept pushing them together despite their valiant efforts to annoy each other…so, maybe he should stop fighting it, Han thought, his mind still only slightly cloudy from the whiskey.

"You better take it easy, Princess...I was beginning to think that maybe _I_ was hazardous to your health, but I think it's all you...", he said, lightening the mood.

"Thanks…I'm fine", she said, expecting him to let her go...

Han sighed. "Are you?", he asked softly, smiling, as he gently drew Leia close to his chest, placing his right hand softly on her head, gently holding her close in his arms.

It was _so_ unlike him, thought Leia.

She closed her eyes, and allowed herself to relax into his unexpected but genuine embrace.

She couldn't remember the last time she had been just _held_ like this - perhaps never.

 _Gods, he smelled so ridiculously good_.

She hoped this wouldn't be the last time she was held by him.

 _If only I could be so lucky_ , they both thought at the same time, unbeknownst to each other.

It took everything she had to fight back the tears that were now welling behind her eyes as she realized just how badly she needed to just be _held_.

Han knew she was hurting.

As he had realized with Luke, his big mouth had also hurt Leia, and he felt immensely guilty about it, especially now that he had come back, and allowed his new acquaintances to become people he truly cared about, despite his cool façade and uncaring demeanor.

Friends were so few and far between for Han…where he came from, friends were family. In this case, he realized that somehow Leia was even more important to him than that, despite their disagreements and severely botched first…and second…and third impressions on each other.

He knew one thing: he didn't want to see her suffer again, not if he had anything to say about it…

Leia looked up at him. A few tears had managed to escape though she had tried to hide them.

She couldn't believe that she was allowing this man to see her cry – she never allowed _anyone_ on base see her this way. _Why was she acting this way?_

Han lifted her chin and looked directly into her eyes.

"It's going to be ok, Leia," he said so softly that she wasn't sure she heard him. As his thumb brushed her pale and perfect cheek, she closed her eyes again, allowing a few more silent tears to fall, uncaring that he could plainly see her at her most vulnerable.

"I'm sorry I've been a real jerk lately, and you don't deserve it, Leia. I don't know why…but", he whispered, "…you make me want to be better. I hope you'll let me try…", he trailed off as he kissed a lingering tear from her cheek.

Inwardly, Han knew it was the truth, yet he was completely torn up inside. He knew this was _wrong_ – she was royalty, he was a filthy pirate, and there was no way that anyone would stand for them being together, not that he really believed that she would want _that_ for very long. He knew he was nothing special – not _worthy_ of her.

Knowing that about himself helped him come to grips with his one rule: he never allowed himself to get involved with _anybody_. - His profession demanded that he be a perennial bachelor – it was no place for a man that was tied to anyone, nor for one that had too many trusted friends. They'd only be used as bait, as targets to get him to drop his cargo, and thus lose his credits, and maybe even worse…the _Falcon_.

But still, some things _were_ more precious than cargo and credits.

Han took a deep breath as they broke apart. Leia smoothed her base-issue jumpsuit and tried to fix her already-loose hair, which she seemed to forget had already been taken down in her nervous attempt at making a move on him.

This made Han smile.

"I'm not sayin' you have to do anything at all but if you _wanted_ to stay here tonight, I'm not sayin' I'd kick you out either..." he put his hands up "…and I wouldn't even try _anything_ , smuggler's honor", said Han, with exaggerated puppy-dog eyes that made Leia laugh, her tears drying.

"Thanks Han, but I better be getting back to my quarters. I _do_ have to get my outfit ready for tomorrow – I've completely forgotten.", said Leia, the fire and ice now completely absent from her voice, which now sounded very tired and worry-worn.

"Alright, you _are_ a princess afterall, I keep forgettin' that, you need to be all _fancy_ all the time…I'll walk you back", he paused, holding up a finger to her, "hang on, don't you go anywhere."

Han pranced back toward his chamber and made sure he dropped his anhydrawrap at the last possible second, looking proudly over his right shoulder at her just as he ducked into the room. As soon as he did it, he regretted it though.

Leia smiled and shook her head, but wasn't about to complain. Not one bit.

 _If he's trying to cheer me up, he's succeeding_ , she thought, happy with her small victory. _He wants me to stay. He really likes me…_

Han emerged, sporting a fresh "uniform" - which is what Leia had lately called it – which consisted of blue pants with red bloodstripes, knee boots, with an off-white shirt (from being washed with too many colored garments, of course), but now without his trademark vest.

"Oh, flying casual are we, Captain?" asked Leia, her cheeks still red from seeing his equally rosy 'cheeks'.

"Not at all your Majesty – I'm here to Promenade you to your chambers, of course," he said as he took her hand and bowed in an exaggerated way, like something out of a romance holo.

"Wow, suddenly so gentlemanly-" said Leia, sarcastically. Han straightened up, interrupting her: "Hey, I can be charming when I wanna be!"

"Ok, we'll see, flyboy. Lead the way."

Han unlocked the hydraulic door, and they descended the ramp.

As they made their way across the base, Leia's heart had begun pounding even harder than it had when they'd come to rescue her.

Just days ago, she had resigned herself over to being put to death at the hands of the enemy. Now, she was holding the hand of the smuggler, a man she was convinced that she abhorred just a few hours ago. _Not abhorred, just falsely convinced myself he wasn't right for me..._ she reasoned to herself.

She had sworn up and down that she wouldn't get involved with anyone she worked with… _did Han exactly work for them?_ _Were they getting involved_? She sighed to herself as they walked. Yet another thing to discuss…she was sick of endless discussions. Sick of what was right and wrong.

They reached her hallway after what seemed to take eons; though she was dreading saying goodnight, she knew better than to invite him in, knowing it was not befitting of her rank to do so.

Turning to say goodnight, Leia felt Han's arm slip around her back as he suddenly pushed her against the recessed door to her quarters, his face now boldly less than an inch from hers.

"I know you can't– but I…", she touched his lips silent, unable to quell the smile that now spread across both their faces.

"...I know-" she finished for him as he sweetly kissed the gentle finger that quieted him.

Leia was done with words. They wanted each other, that was all she could think about.

Without caring what anyone else thought, she pulled him toward her, closing the last inch that separated them, his warm body now pinning her against the cold rock of the ancient temple.

He was so strong. In her mind, she was playing back what she briefly saw in the _Falcon._

 _He could crush me right now if he wanted to_.

And she _did_ want him to, in the sweetest possible way, and he knew it now too. He was _sure_.

But not _right_ now.

Not tonight.

He wanted to do this the _right_ way.

Han kissed her much more gently than she had expected, though his body still had her deliciously pinned to the door, which now emboldened her further...

But, he slowly broke the kiss, and opened his eyes, giving her the most devilish stare she had ever seen as he backed away, holding her hands now. Han half-smiled at her, clearly enjoying the look on her face, seemingly _knowing_ what she wanted now.

Closing the gap one last time, the smuggler kissed her cheek, whispering, "Your hair is all messed up, your worship," he smirked, "…I _like_ it that way….goodnight, Leia", and slowly backed away in the direction of the _Falcon_ , the knowing smile still on his handsome face _._

All she could manage to do was smile back at him as he slowly moved away from her down the hall. If she moved, her legs might just go out.

He had her figured out _alright_ – and she'd probably be mad about it tomorrow - but right now she had no words, and instead just enjoyed watching him walk away, her thoughts racing as fast as her heart was now pounding.

She _knew what he was smugglin_ '….and it was trouble alright.

The _best_ kind.

The kind of trouble she could get used to getting into from now on.


End file.
